GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it has fired a doctor who was reported, according to an Associated Press story, for repeated sexual abuse.
The UN health agency was under pressure from the United States and other countries to take action in the fight against sexual abuse following allegations against Dr. Temo Waqanivalu, a Fijian national.
“Dr. Temo Waqanivalu has been fired from the WHO following the sexual abuse allegations against him and the accompanying disciplinary process,” spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in an email to the AP on Tuesday.
“Sexual abuse of any kind by someone who works for WHO – be it an employee, consultant or partner – is unacceptable,” he added.
In January, the AP reported that Waqanivalu had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a conference in Berlin in October. Years before, he reported it to the directors of the WHO for alleged harassment of another employee.
The earlier complaint had no significant consequences for Waqanivalu, head of a small team in the department of noncommunicable diseases, who was poised to run for regional director for the western Pacific.
According to confidential documents seen by the AP, senior WHO officials were told about a sexual abuse allegation against Waqanivalu in 2018. The complainant was later told that asking for a formal investigation might not be in the best interest. for her.
Waqanivalu was subsequently given an informal warning that did not mention the complainant or her specific conduct.
In interviews with WHO investigators, Waqanivalu “categorically” denied having sexually assaulted anyone. He declined to speak to the AP.
In recent years, reports of abuse at the WHO have multiplied. In May 2021, the AP reported that there were allegations of sexual abuse during the Ebola outbreak in Congo, but that managers aware of it took little action to stop it. A WHO-appointed panel later found that some 21 employees had been accused of sexual abuse during the outbreak, among a total of 83 alleged abusers linked to the 2018-2020 mission.
The Western Pacific regional director whom Waqanivalu was seeking to replace was fired in August, months after the AP reported that several employees had accused him of racist and abusive conduct that compromised the organization’s response to COVID-19.