WHO staff complaint and email allege racism, abusive behaviour in Asia

Geneva: Current and former staffers have accused the top director of the World Health Organization in the Western Pacific of racist, unethical and abusive behaviour that has undermined the UN health agency's efforts to curb the Coronavirus pandemic.

The allegations were laid out in an internal complaint filed in October and again in an email last week, sent by unidentified concerned WHO staff to senior leadership and the executive board and obtained by the Associated Press.

Two of the authors said more than 30 staffers were involved in writing it, and that it reflected the experiences of more than 50 people.

The internal complaint and the email describe a toxic atmosphere with a culture of systemic bullying and public ridiculing at WHO's Western Pacific headquarters in Manila, led by Dr. Takeshi Kasai, director of a vast region that includes China and his home country of Japan.

The AP also has obtained recorded snippets of meetings where Kasai is heard making derogatory remarks about his staff based on nationality. Eleven former or current WHO staffers who worked for Kasai told the AP he frequently used racist language.