WHO says will investigate allegations of racism, abusive behavior against Western Pacific director
The World Health Organization vowed to take action Thursday after staff were accused of racist, abusive and authoritarian behavior against its Western Pacific regional director.
Takeshi Kasai, a Japanese doctor, is accused of harming the WHO's ability to fight the COVID 19 epidemic.
WHO is aware of the allegations and is taking all appropriate steps to follow up on the matter, said the organization's global headquarters in Geneva, without elaborating.
The Associated Press news agency published an investigation indicating that dozens of WHO staff filed an internal complaint in October.
They sent an email to members of the WHO executive board in mid-January, meeting in Geneva this week.
In the email seen by AFP, they accused Kasai of being a racist and abusive leader. They accused him of mismanaging the pandemic, wasteful spending of donor contributions, abusing his power to secure his re-election and nepotistic staff recruitment.
They requested immediate intervention from member states to address their concerns.
The WHO's Western Pacific region comprises almost 1.9 billion people in 37 territories, including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
Kasai has been in the position since February 2019. He was appointed by the WHO executive board. He was previously in the region's No. He has worked for the WHO for more than 15 years.
In a document sent to the WHO, Kasai denied all of the allegations and said he would cooperate fully with any investigation.
He said that I take the concerns raised about my management style and working culture in WHO's Western Pacific Region very seriously.
I ask a lot of my staff. This has been the case during the COVID 19 response. It should not result in people feeling disrespected.
I am concerned with the utmost gravity and I am committed to making changes that will ensure a positive work environment for all of the WHO workforce in our region. He denied the accusation of racism.
He insisted that I have been hard on staff, but I dissented from the suggestion that I have targeted staff of a particular nationality.
Kasai also disputed allegations of having shared confidential information about COVID 19 vaccination with Japan.
He said that he is ready to cooperate fully with any process to investigate the concerns that have been raised.
The ambassador in Geneva, the U.K., has urged the WHO to conduct a thorough investigation of the claims.
Simon Manley said there was no place for racism or discrimination in the WHO or in any of our partners.
We expect the WHO to investigate all allegations of misconduct and provide support to those affected. We will monitor closely WHO's response to these reports and continue to hold it to the highest ethical standards.