Since a report on the scandal was released last month, more women have alleged sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers amid an Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a senior official of World Health Organization (WHO) told the media.
During the country’s 10th Ebola epidemic, an independent panel found that 83 aid workers, a quarter of the staff hired by the World Health Organisation agencies, were involved in sexual coercion and abuse.
As the WHO seeks to enact reforms and rebuild trust in the United Nations organisation, Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, WHO acting head of prevention and response to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment, raised concerns about the scale of the abuse.
Nine rape complaints were highlighted in the study, with the youngest victim being a 14-year-old girl who accused that a WHO driver offered her a ride and then raped her. She then became pregnant and gave birth.
Gamhewage stated that more people had come forward accusing mistreatment by aid workers at the time. Due to confidentiality concerns, she was unable to provide a figure because she did not have access to the complaints. The issue served as a wake-up call for the international aid community.
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