A damning report has found that the World Health Organization failed to prevent and tackle widespread sexual abuse during the Ebola reponse in Congo – a probe triggered by an investigation by The New Humanitarian and the Thomson Reuters Foundation

WHO staff knew of allegations in early May 2019, but it wasn’t until October 2020 that an independent commission was established – a month after our investigation was published. It featured more than 50 women who said they had been lured into sex-for-work schemes. Additional reporting turned up more than 20 other victims. Although the commission was established in October 2020, it took investigators nearly seven months to start interviews in Congo. The independent commission’s report said WHO staff were aware of allegations as early as May 2019, noting that “individual negligence may amount to professional misconduct”.

Six victims reacted to the report on Wednesday, telling The New Humanitarian that investigators – paid for by the WHO (the commission chairs worked pro bono) – had failed to explain what its findings could mean.“It wasn’t clear when the investigators spoke to us how they were going to help or if they were just trying to track down the alleged perpetrators,” said one of 11 women who allowed The New Humanitarian to share her contact details with the commission’s investigators. “It also wasn’t clear whether they could help us find financial support. They just didn’t tell me anything.”

The commission’s report raises serious questions about the WHO’s top leaders, and why they were unaware of the extent of the problem. Tedros, for example, visited Congo 14 times during the Ebola response, while other staff made even more visits. 

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