Tag: syria

Staffers on the Global Well being Organisation’s Syria place of job have alleged that their boss mismanaged tens of millions of bucks, plied executive officers with items — together with computer systems, gold cash and automobiles — and violated the company’s personal COVID-19 steering because the pandemic swept the rustic.

Greater than 100 confidential paperwork, messages and different fabrics acquired by way of The Related Press display WHO officers advised investigators that the company’s Syria consultant, Dr. Akjemal Magtymova, engaged in abusive habits, careworn WHO group of workers to signal contracts with high-ranking Syrian executive politicians and persistently misspent WHO and donor budget.

Magtymova, a Turkmenistan nationwide and scientific physician, declined to answer questions concerning the allegations, pronouncing that she may no longer solution, “because of (her) tasks as a WHO group of workers member.” She described the accusations as “defamatory.” The lawsuits from no less than a dozen staffers have prompted one of the crucial greatest inner WHO investigations in years, from time to time involving greater than 20 investigators.

WHO showed in a observation {that a} probe used to be ongoing, describing it as “protracted and complicated.” Bringing up problems together with confidentiality and the security of group of workers, WHO would no longer touch upon Magtymova’s alleged wrongdoing.
WHO’s Syria place of job had the cheap of about USD 115 million final yr to handle well being problems in a rustic riven by way of conflict — one during which just about 90 according to cent of the inhabitants lives in poverty and greater than part desperately want humanitarian support.

For the previous a number of months, WHO investigators had been probing incidents together with a birthday party that Magtymova ostensibly threw to most commonly honor her personal achievements on the UN company’s expense, her request to group of workers in December 2020 to finish a flash mob dance problem, and claims Magtymova “supplied favors” to senior politicians in Syria, along with assembly surreptitiously with Russian army, possible breaches of WHO’s neutrality as a UN organisation.

In a single grievance despatched to WHO Director-Common Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Would possibly, a Syria-based staffer wrote that Magtymova employed the incompetent family of presidency officers, together with some accused of “numerous human rights violations.” In Would possibly, WHO’s regional director within the Japanese Mediterranean appointed an performing consultant in Syria to interchange Magtymova after she used to be placed on depart — however she remains to be indexed because the company’s Syria consultant in its group of workers listing.

A lot of WHO staffers in Syria have advised the company’s investigators that Magtymova did not clutch the severity of the pandemic in Syria and jeopardized the lives of tens of millions.

A minimum of 5 WHO staff complained to investigators that Magtymova violated WHO’s personal COVID-19 steering. They stated she didn’t inspire faraway operating, got here to the place of job after catching COVID and held conferences unmasked. 4 WHO staffers stated she inflamed others.

In December 2020, deep within the first yr of the pandemic, Magtymova prompt the Syria place of job to be informed a flash mob dance popularized by way of a social media problem for a year-end UN match.

“Kindly observe that we would like you to hear the music, teach your self for the stairs and shoot you dancing over the song to be a part of our international flash mob dance video,” wrote WHO communications staffer Rafik Alhabbal in an e-mail to all Syria group of workers. Magtymova one by one despatched a hyperlink to a YouTube website online, which she described as “the most efficient educational.” More than one movies display staffers, some dressed in WHO vests or jackets, acting “ the Jerusalema problem ” dance in places of work and warehouses stocked with scientific provides, at a time when senior officers at WHO Geneva have been advising international locations to enforce faraway operating when imaginable and to droop all non-essential gatherings.

Inside paperwork, emails and messages additionally lift critical issues about how WHO’s budget have been used below Magtymova, with staffers alleging she automatically misspent restricted donor budget supposed to assist the greater than 12 million Syrians in dire want of well being support.

Some of the incidents being probed is a celebration Magtymova arranged final Would possibly, when she gained an award from Tufts College, her alma mater. Held on the unique 4 Seasons lodge in Damascus, the catered birthday party integrated a visitor checklist of about 50, at a time when fewer than 1 according to cent of the Syrian inhabitants had gained a unmarried dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

The night time’s schedule featured remarks by way of the Syrian minister of well being, adopted by way of a reception and just about two hours of are living song. WHO paperwork display whilst the development used to be known as to rejoice WHO’s designation of 2021 because the Yr of Well being and Care Employee, the night time used to be dedicated to Magtymova, no longer well being staff. The price, in keeping with a spreadsheet: greater than USD 11,000.

Different WHO officers raised issues about Magtymova’s spending, pronouncing she used to be enthusiastic about a number of questionable contracts, together with a transportation deal that awarded a number of million bucks to a provider with whom she had non-public ties.

A minimum of 5 staffers additionally complained Magtymova used WHO budget to shop for items for the Ministry of Well being and others, together with “excellent servers and laptops,” gold cash and automobiles. The AP used to be no longer ready to corroborate their allegations. A number of WHO staff stated they have been careworn to strike offers for elementary provides like gas with senior individuals of the Syrian executive.

The accusations referring to WHO’s most sensible consultant in Syria come after more than one misconduct lawsuits on the UN well being company in recent times, together with sexual abuse in Congo and racist behaviour by way of the highest WHO legit within the Western Pacific.

Javier Guzman, director of world well being on the Heart for World Construction in Washington, stated the newest fees referring to WHO’s Magtymova have been “extraordinarily anxious” and not likely to be an exception.

“That is obviously a systemic downside,” Guzman stated. “Most of these allegations aren’t simply happening in one in every of WHO’s places of work however in more than one areas.” He stated despite the fact that Tedros used to be observed by way of some as the sector’s ethical moral sense right through COVID-19, the company’s credibility used to be critically broken by way of experiences of misconduct. Guzman known as for WHO to publicly free up any investigation file into Magtymova and the Syria place of job.

WHO stated investigation experiences are “in most cases no longer public paperwork,” however that “aggregated, anonymized knowledge” in some shape could be made publicly available.