Panel finds 80 alleged abuse cases tied to WHO’s Congo work

By MARIA CHENG and AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO
Associated Press

BENI, Congo (AP) — A panel commissioned by the World Health Organization has identified more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse during the U.N. health agency’s response to an Ebola outbreak in Congo. The cases include allegations implicating 20 WHO staff members. The panel released its findings on Tuesday, months after an Associated Press investigation found senior WHO management was informed of multiple abuse claims in 2019 but failed to stop the harassment and even promoted one of the managers involved.  WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appointed the panel’s co-chairs to investigate the claims last October, after media reports claimed unnamed humanitarian officials sexually abused women during the Ebola outbreak that began in Congo in 2018.