WHO fires senior official over ‘unacceptable’ sexual misconduct
- Fijian doctor Temo Waqanivalu was dismissed ‘following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process’
- WHO has been undergoing reforms after it faced criticism over its slow response to claims of sexual abuse by aid workers sent to the DR Congo during the Ebola outbreak
The World Health Organization said Monday it had dismissed a senior official over “findings of sexual misconduct” following at least three reported accusations against him in recent years.
The Fijian doctor “Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process”, spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in an email.
The UN health agency, which has been working to improve its record on tackling sexual misconduct and abuse allegations, did not provide more details about its findings.
But media have reported that the top official in WHO’s non-communicable diseases division stands accused of at least three different instances of alleged sexual misconduct since 2017.
The Associated Press in January named him as the suspected perpetrator in a widely publicised case of alleged sexual assault during the World Health Summit in Berlin last October.