Geneva, 30 September 2021 – Last year, an Independent Commission was appointed to investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse during the response to the tenth Ebola Virus Disease epidemic in North Kivu and Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This Commission has now published its report.
The independent commission interviewed dozens of women and girls, and identified dozens of potential victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, and 21 alleged perpetrators employed by the World Health Organization at the time of the events.
Gavi leadership and staff acknowledge the seriousness of the report’s findings. As leaders in global health, we have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of the communities we work with, and we have collectively failed those we have a duty to serve. We echo the words of WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who vowed to ensure that justice will be done and acknowledged the responsibility of the international community and the need to rebuild trust in development and humanitarian organisations.
Gavi stands with the victims and is ready to assist alliance partners and national authorities in any way possible.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Evan O’Connell
+41 79 682 18 95
eoconnell@gavi.org
Iryna Mazur
+41 79 429 3671
imazur@gavi.org
Meg Sharafudeen
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org
Laura Shevlin
+ 41 79 529 92 87
lshevlin@gavi.org
Cirũ Kariũki
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org