The WHO’s Congo Sex Abuse Scandal Points to Humanitarian Aid’s Deeper Flaws

The WHO’s Congo Sex Abuse Scandal Points to Humanitarian Aid’s Deeper Flaws
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization, speaks to the media after the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Ebola in Congo, in Geneva, Switzerland, Oct. 17, 2018 (AP photo by Salvatore Di Nolfi).

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More than 80 alleged cases of sexual abuse, including allegations implicating World Health Organization staff members, occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the Ebola crisis between 2018 and 2020, an independent commission has found.

Although much of the coverage of the probe has focused on what is being described as a “sex for jobs” scandal implicating 21 WHO staff, the report cited a wide range of incidents, including an alleged case of a WHO driver raping a 13-year-old girl. 

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