Employees of the World Health Organization’s Syria workplace have alleged that their boss mismanaged hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, flaunting presents to authorities officers – together with computer systems, gold cash and vehicles – and violated the company’s personal COVID-19 steering as a result of The pandemic shook the nation.
More than 100 confidential paperwork, messages and different materials obtained by the Associated Press present WHO officers instructed investigators that the company’s Syria consultant, Dr. Akjemal Magtymova, engaged in abusive conduct, contracts with high-ranking Syrian authorities politicians on WHO employees. Pressurized to signal and chronic misuse of WHO and donor funds.
Turkmenistan’s nationwide and medical physician, Magtymova, declined to reply questions concerning the allegations, saying she couldn’t reply, “due to (her) obligations as a WHO staff member.” She referred to as the allegations “outrageous”. Complaints from at the very least a dozen staff have triggered the WHO’s largest inside investigation in years, which at instances entails greater than 20 investigators.
The WHO confirmed in a press release that an investigation was ongoing, describing it as “prolonged and complicated”. WHO wouldn’t touch upon Magtymova’s alleged wrongdoing, citing points together with privateness and worker security.
The WHO’s Syria workplace final 12 months budgeted about USD 115 million to handle well being points within the war-ravaged nation – one by which practically 90 % of the inhabitants lives in poverty and greater than half are in dire want of humanitarian support.
For the previous a number of months, WHO investigators have been probing incidents together with a celebration that Magtymova threw ostensibly to honor her personal achievements on the United Nations company’s expense, the Flash Mob Dance Challenge in December 2020 Her request to employees to meet, and Magtymova claims, “grants grace to senior politicians in Syria, in addition to meeting covertly with the Russian military, in addition to possible breaches of the WHO’s neutrality as a United Nations organization.” did.
In a criticism despatched to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in May, a Syrian worker wrote that Magtimova had employed disabled kinfolk of presidency officers, together with some accused of “countless human rights violations”. In May, the WHO’s regional director within the japanese Mediterranean appointed an appearing consultant in Syria to switch Magtimova after she went on go away – however she remains to be listed in its employees listing because the company’s Syria consultant.
Several WHO employees in Syria have instructed company investigators that Magtimova failed to grasp the seriousness of the pandemic in Syria and put hundreds of thousands of lives in danger.
At least 5 WHO personnel complained to investigators that Magtimova violated WHO’s personal COVID-19 steering. He stated he didn’t encourage distant work, got here to workplace after catching COVID and held unmasked conferences. Four WHO staff stated he had contaminated others.
In December 2020, within the first 12 months of the pandemic, Magtimova instructed the Syrian workplace to be taught the flash mob dance popularized by a social media problem for a year-end United Nations occasion.
“Please note that we want you to listen to the song, train yourself for the steps and music to be part of our global flash mob dance video,” WHO communications employees Rafiq Alhabbal wrote in an electronic mail to all employees in Syria. But shoot whereas dancing.” , Magtymova separately sent a link to a YouTube website, which she described as “one of the best tutorial”. Several videos showed employees, some wearing WHO vests or jackets, dancing with medical supplies in offices and warehouses while dancing the “Jerusalem Challenge”, at a time when senior WHO Geneva officers are advising nations Were going to implement distant work when doable and droop all non-essential gatherings.
Internal paperwork, emails and messages additionally elevate critical issues about how WHO funds have been used beneath Magtymova, with employees alleging she routinely misappropriated restricted donor funding to greater than 12 million Syrians. Health support was desperately wanted to assist individuals.
Among the incidents which can be being investigated is a celebration Magtymova held final May, when she obtained an award from Tufts University, her alma mater. Held on the unique Four Seasons resort in Damascus, the catered occasion included a visitor checklist of about 50, at a time when lower than 1 % of the Syrian inhabitants had obtained a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
On the agenda for the night have been remarks by the Syrian well being minister, adopted by a reception and practically two hours of stay music. WHO paperwork present that the occasion was referred to as upon to designate 2021 because the WHO’s Year of the Health and Care Worker, with the night devoted to Magtymova, not well being employees. Cost in keeping with a spreadsheet: over US$11,000.
Other WHO officers raised issues about Magtimova’s spending, saying she was concerned in a lot of questionable contracts, together with a transportation deal that awarded a multimillion-dollar award to a provider with whom she had a private relationship. Were.
At least 5 staff additionally complained that Magtymova used WHO funds to purchase presents for the Ministry of Health and others, together with “very nice servers and laptops,” gold cash and vehicles. The AP was not ready to substantiate his allegations. Several WHO personnel stated that they had been pressured to barter fundamental provides corresponding to gasoline with senior members of the Syrian authorities.
The allegations concerning the WHO’s high consultant in Syria come after a number of misconduct complaints on the UN well being company in recent times, together with sexual abuse within the Congo and racist conduct by a high WHO official within the western Pacific.
Javier Guzman, director of world well being on the Center for Global Development in Washington, stated the WHO’s newest allegations about Magtimova are “extremely disturbing” and are unlikely to be an exception.
“This is clearly a systemic problem,” Guzman stated. “Such allegations are happening in many areas, not just in one WHO office.” He stated that though Tedros was seen by some because the ethical conscience of the world throughout COVID-19, the company’s credibility was badly broken by studies of misconduct. Guzmán referred to as on the WHO to publicly launch any investigation studies into Magtymova and the Syria workplace.
The WHO stated investigation studies “are not generally public documents”, however that “collected, anonymised data” could be made publicly accessible in some type.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
