Probe shows WHO knew of sex claims in Congo

Two women have told the Associated Press that a former leader of the World Health Organization's efforts to combat Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo used his position to attempt to gain sexual favours from employees.

Shekinah was working as a nurse's aide to support her mother and two children when she says Dr. Boubacar Diallo, then a leader of the World Health Organization's (WHO) efforts to combat the deadly disease in the DRC offered her a job paying twice what she was earning to help with the crisis.

But the Congolese woman later found there were conditions attached.

"The economic crisis pushed me to accept this offer," says the young mother, who asked that only her first name be used. "But I also saw that he was a great leader within the WHO, that he has a lot of influence within the WHO. So, I had no other choice but to sleep with him."

"He slept with many girls," she says. "I was not the only victim; there were many of us."

A WHO staffer and three Ebola experts working in Congo during the outbreak separately told management about general sex abuse concerns around Diallo, The Associated Press has learned. They said they were told not to take the matter further.

WHO has been facing widespread public allegations of systemic abuse of women by unnamed staffers, to which Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared outrage and emergencies director Dr. Michael Ryan said, “Frankly, right now, we have absolutely no details of any of the individuals, any of the specific allegations.”

But an AP investigation has now found that despite its public denial of knowledge, senior WHO management was not only informed of alleged sexual misconduct in 2019 but was asked how to handle it.

The AP has also for the first time tracked down the names of two doctors accused of sexual misconduct, Diallo and Dr. Jean-Paul Ngandu, both of whom were reported to WHO.

When reached by the AP, both Diallo and Ngandu denied wrongdoing.

The investigation was based on interviews with dozens of WHO staffers, Ebola officials in Congo, private emails, legal documents and recordings of internal meetings obtained by the AP.

Diallo said he first heard of the allegations from the AP, and that he was never informed of any investigation by WHO.

"I have never offered a woman a job in exchange for sex and I have never sexually harassed a woman in my life," said Diallo, who said his contract with the agency ended last July.

An internal investigation failed to substantiate the claims against Diallo, but a whistleblower told the AP that investigators did not interview any of the women or the staff members who flagged the harassment allegations.

The WHO declined to comment on any specific sex abuse claims or how they were handled by senior management, but in an email response, an agency spokesperson said: "We are aware that more work is needed to achieve our vision of emergency operations that serve the vulnerable while protecting them from all forms of abuse."

Diallo was WHO's incident manager in the DRC's Kivu province.

Sources tell the AP he often bragged about his connections to the agency's director-general, and that Diallo was considered "untouchable."

Shekinah says she knew she was not qualified for the new job, but that she couldn't resist the $1,200 monthly salary.

"Sometimes, my colleagues on duty start to insult me saying, 'The boss's wife is untouchable, because you come to work whenever you want,'" she said.

The AP also talked with several women who told similar stories about Diallo.

Anifa, a hospital worker, says the married doctor offered her a job at five times her current pay if she would sleep with him.

"I told him, no. That it would dishonor me," says Anifa, who also asked to be identified by her first name only.

Anifa says these aid workers were supposed to be in her country to save lives.

"He sullies the name of WHO everywhere he goes," she says. "I condemn WHO for not sanctioning Dr. Boubacar Diallo."

The revelations come at a time when the U.N. health agency is winding down its response two recent Ebola epidemics in Congo and Guinea, and is already under pressure for its management of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WHO declined to comment on specific sex abuse allegations, and none of the 12 WHO officials contacted responded to repeated requests for comment.

Spokeswoman Marcia Poole noted that Tedros announced an independent investigation of sex abuse in Congo after media reports came out in October. Findings are due at earliest in August, investigators have said.