Sexual violence by WHO employees: EU and US call for “rapid change” in s – franceinfo

Pressure on the WHO. The main donor countries of the World Health Organization demanded, Friday, October 1, a “total commitment” of the institution to prevent the recurrence of sexual violence committed by some of its employees. The statement follows the publication on Wednesday of a devastating report which found that 21 WHO staff committed sexual violence against dozens of people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the 2018-2020 Ebola epidemic. . An independent commission of inquiry denounces “structural failures” and “individual negligence”.

In a joint declaration, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and UK say they will“ensure that the commitments made by WHO management will lead to greater accountability, more capacity for action and rapid change “.

WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who commissioned this report said he was “sorry” to the victims and promised “severe consequences” to those responsible. This was not enough to reassure donor countries, who believe that the main officials of the organization have reacted too little and too slowly. The countries that signed the press release said “horrified” by the findings of the report, which revealed dozens of cases of sexual exploitation in exchange for the promise of work, but also nine rapes.