LONDON (Dispatches) - The World Health Organization (WHO) described itself as “heartbroken” after an independent inquiry it commissioned said scores of women and girls were sexually abused by aid workers during the devastating 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The findings were described as “harrowing reading” by the WHO’s director general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while its regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said she was “humbled, horrified and heartbroken”, The Guardian reported.
The commission, which examined about 80 cases of women and girls aged 13 to 43, identified 21 employees working for the UN global health body among perpetrators of serious abuses, including a number of rape allegations. According to the report, the abuse led to 29 pregnancies, with some of the perpetrators insisting the women have abortions. The report added that the WHO perpetrators included local and international staff.
Western diplomatic sources said four people had been dismissed and two placed on administrative leave, based on a closed-door briefing involving WHO that was provided to diplomatic officials in Geneva on Tuesday.