The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has fired one of its doctors who faced allegations, first reported by The Associated Press, that he had repeatedly engaged in sexual misconduct.
The United Nations health agency had come under pressure from the United States and other countries to do more in the fight against sexual misconduct in the wake of the claims against the doctor, Fijian national Temo Waqanivalu.
“Dr Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole said in a email to the AP early Tuesday.
“Sexual misconduct of any kind by anyone working for WHO — be it as staff, consultant, partner — is unacceptable,” she added.
In January, the AP reported that Waqanivalu had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Berlin conference in October and was flagged to senior WHO directors years ago for allegedly harassing another staffer.
The earlier allegation didn’t result in any significant consequences for Waqanivalu, who headed a small team in WHO’s non-communicable diseases department and had been preparing to run for regional director of the Western Pacific.
According to confidential documents obtained by the AP, senior WHO directors were informed of a sexual harassment allegation made against Waqanivalu in 2018. The accuser was later informed that pursuing a formal investigation might not be the best option for her.
Waqanivalu was later given an informal warning that didn’t cite the woman who made the claim or his specific behaviour.
In interviews with WHO investigators, Waqanivalu “categorically” denied he had ever sexually assaulted anyone. He declined to comment to the AP.
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