WHO fired seven people for sexual misconduct in six months

The World Health Organization has fired seven people, including at director level, for sexual misconduct in six months as the body attempts to reform after a number of scandals.In 2021 an independent commission published its report on WHO’s links to instances of sexual abuse and exploitation of women and girls during the response to the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo during 2018-21. The investigation found serious institutional failings.12 And earlier this year, the Telegraph published an expose detailing extensive complaints of sexual abuse and harassment against a senior adviser to the organisation. Former colleagues described the culture in Maurizio Barbeschi’s team as an “old boys’ club” and a “misogynistic pissing circle.”345Gaya Gamhewage, director of the department of prevention and response to sexual misconduct at WHO, told a media briefing on 7 July, “In the first six months of this year, we received 48 allegations of sexual misconduct….
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