WHO's Disgraceful Compensation for Congo Sexual Abuse Victims Highlights Urgent Need for Reform

13-year-old “Jolianne” of the Democratic Republic of Congo recalls being on the side of the road, selling phone cards, when she was approached by a driver for the World Health Organization offering her a ride home. Instead of being driven home, she was raped and impregnated at a local hotel. 

In May of 2021, A World Health Organization-authorized panel revealed a shocking number of sexual abuse allegations between 2018 and 2020 during the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In total, this report implicated 83 individuals in the misconduct. Over 100 women and girls have alleged sexual misconduct and abuse at the hands of WHO employees, with over a dozen men also claiming abuse as well. 

Furthermore, evidence from internal meetings indicates that eight senior WHO officials acknowledged the organization's failure to effectively address sexual exploitation during the Ebola outbreak, recognizing the systemic nature of the problem. 

Recently, The WHO has compensated at least 104 Congolese women alleging sexual abuse or exploitation by Ebola response officials with a paltry $250 each. For context, this amount falls short of a single day's expenses for some UN officials stationed in the nation's capital. Furthermore, nearly a third of known victims have yet to receive any payments due to what the WHO amounts to as an “inability” to locate them". The WHO has also offered limited support to alleviate medical costs incurred for 17 children who have resulted from the sexual exploitation and abuse. 

Many of the women who received payments as compensation for their abuse were made to complete “training courses” in order to encourage them to participate in “income-generating activities”, with one woman claiming she could not receive her payment until she took a baking class. These methods have been critiqued by Paula Donavan, co-director for the Code Blue campaign, who believes they “set uncomfortable conditions for victims of wrongdoing seeking help.” 

Currently, the WHO’s Congo office has a budget of nearly 175 million dollars, with its biggest funding coming from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The organization's insufficient compensation of $26,000 to victims of sexual misconduct in Congo represents barely 1% of their $2 million “Survivor Assistance Fund”. This fund is specifically dedicated to supporting victims of such abuse, so this trivial recourse by the WHO raises concerns about the organization's commitment to addressing this issue.

The WHO has since only arrested 5 members of their staff for sexual misconduct since 2021, resulting in a deep distrust for the organization by Congolese women. Many women who allege abuse by WHO staff believe the agency hasn't done enough. These women have expressed their desires for their perpetrators to be brought to justice and for additional compensation and resources for their trauma. Congolese women and girls are now worried about what might happen if there is a future health crisis in the region. The Congo is currently experiencing extreme increases in violence, a severe lack of resources, and staggering displacement–with nearly 7 million Congolese uprooted from their homes. This means that emergency responses in the future will be heavily reliant on organizations such as the WHO and other branches of the UN. 

Ultimately, the WHO must take immediate and comprehensive action to address the issue of sexual abuse and exploitation by its staff. This includes providing comprehensive training to all staff members, creating a safe and confidential reporting system, and implementing oversight and regular audits of its policies and procedures. The WHO must also provide adequate support to victims of abuse, work with local communities to raise awareness and empower women, and perhaps most importantly, they must hold all perpetrators accountable for their actions. Transparency and accountability are key to regaining the trust of the Congolese people, and the WHO must be vigilant, open, and honest about its efforts to address these issues. 

The full report of the Independent Commission on the review of sexual abuse and exploitation during the response to the 10th Ebola virus disease epidemic can be found here.