By MARIA CHENG
AP Medical Writer
Current and former staffers have accused the top director of the World Health Organization in the Western Pacific of racist, unethical and abusive behavior that has undermined the U.N. 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 month, 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.
Staffers, who did not identify themselves to WHO “for fear of retaliation,” said in the email that Kasai’s authoritarian style has led to the departure of more than 55 key staff in the past year and a half, most of whom have not been replaced. This resulted in a lack of understanding and involvement with member countries that “significantly contributed” to a surge of cases in many countries in the region, they said. However, other WHO staffers pointed out that spikes in COVID cases were due to numerous reasons, including countries’ own resources and the timing of their national efforts.
In an email to the AP, Kasai denied allegations of racism and unethical behavior. He said that after receiving the email last month, he immediately took steps to communicate with all his staff.
“I ask a lot of myself, and our staff,” he said. “This has particularly been the case during the COVID-19 response. But it should not result in people feeling disrespected.”
Kasai said he was committed to making changes that would ensure “a positive work environment” for all WHO staff in the region. However, an internal WHO message seen by the AP shows that in a meeting last month, Kasai ordered all his senior directors and country representatives to “reject” the accusations made in the email and to “totally support“ him.
Among the most damning claims is that Kasai made “racist and derogatory remarks to staff of certain nationalities.” The internal complaint filed to WHO alleges that Kasai once aggressively questioned a Filipino staffer during a coronavirus meeting, saying: “How many people in the Pacific have you killed so far and how many more do you want to kill further?” The complaint said he then asked “if she was incapable of delivering good presentations because she was Filipina.”
Several WHO officials present when the statements were made confirmed to the AP that the regional director has made numerous racist comments in meetings denigrating people from countries including China, the Philippines and Malaysia. They said the harassed staffers were sometimes driven to tears.
The email also said Kasai had blamed the rise in COVID cases in some countries on their “lack of capacity due to their inferior culture, race and socioeconomic level.” Three WHO staffers who were part of the agency’s coronavirus response team in Asia told the AP Kasai said repeatedly in meetings that the COVID response was hampered by “a lack of sufficiently educated people in the Pacific.”
Kasai rejected allegations that he had ever used racist language.
“It is true that I have been hard on staff, but I reject the suggestion that I have targeted staff of any particular nationality,” he said. “Racism goes against all of the principles and values I hold dear as a person. I believe deeply and sincerely in WHO’s mission to serve all countries and people.”
Kasai is a Japanese doctor who began his career in his country’s public health system before moving to WHO, where he has worked for more than 15 years. He is credited with developing the region’s response to emerging outbreaks after the SARS epidemic in 2003.
In the email, staffers accused Kasai of not respecting WHO’s own guidelines in the pandemic through a forced return to the office and to commute during strict lockdown in Manila. In an internal email to staff from April 1, 2020, he said that three people on the Manila team had COVID but that “we must remain functional..This has meant keeping our country offices and the Regional office open to some level.” Some staffers were concerned that parts of the advice—including car-pooling with other staff and continuing to share desks—could put them at higher risk of catching COVID-19.
A WHO scientist who worked on COVID-19 vaccination in Asia told the AP that Kasai shared data with Japan so that the government could decide how to donate doses to its regional neighbors for a political advantage. The staffer, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said Kasai also pressured WHO personnel to prioritize vaccine donations from Japan over the U.N.-backed COVAX effort. In his response to the AP, Kasai disputed that he had ever inappropriately shared information with Japan.