Racism claim against WHO boss

Staffers allege ‘toxic atmosphere . . . a culture of systemic bullying and public ridiculing’ in West Pacific headquarters

I ask a lot of myself, and our staff.

Takeshi Kasai

Current and former staffers have accused the top director of the World Health Organisation in the Western Pacific of racist, unethical and abusive behaviour that has undermined the UN 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 week, sent by unidentified “concerned WHO staff ” to senior leadership and the executive board. Two of the authors said more than 30 staffers helped write it, and 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.

Staffers, who did not identify themselves “for fear of retaliation,” said in the email Kasai’s authoritarian style had led to the departure of more than 55 key staff in the past 18 months, most of whom had 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.

The complaint and message also accused Kasai of improperly sharing potentially sensitive vaccine information with Japan, one of 37 countries in the region he leads.

Kasai denied allegations of racism and unethical behaviour. He said that after receiving the email last week, 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 shows that in a meeting last week, 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 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 the regional director had 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”.

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.”