250$ plus some entrepreneurship courses is how victims are supported by WHO in Congo, according to a revealing Associated Press story.
Earlier this year, the head of the World Health Organization’s efforts to prevent sexual abuse, Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, visited Congo to address a significant sex scandal during an Ebola outbreak in 2021. Over 100 local women were reportedly abused by UN health agency staff and others. An internal report revealed that one victim gave birth to a child requiring special medical treatment, adding to the financial burden in one of the world’s poorest countries. The WHO offered $250 to 104 women claiming abuse during Ebola response efforts, a sum criticized as inadequate compared to UN officials’ daily expenses.
The payments, requiring recipients to undergo training for “income-generating activities,” seemingly aim to bypass the UN’s reparations policy by including the funds in a “complete package” of support. However, many abused Congolese women have yet to receive any compensation, with a third of known victims deemed “impossible to locate.” The $26,000 provided by the WHO accounts for just 1% of the $2 million “survivor assistance fund” for sexual misconduct victims, primarily in Congo.
