WHO launches probe into alleged internal misconduct

GENEVA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has ordered an internal inquiry after receiving anonymous emails that alleged racism, sexism and misspending within the UN health agency, according to a statement released on the WHO website recently.

"The allegations are being investigated according to WHO's established procedures," the statement said, adding that the anonymous allegations have been circulating internally and WHO has "zero tolerance" for the alleged misconduct.

The Associated Press (AP) reported on Thursday that it has obtained three emails addressed to WHO directors, which claimed that some WHO senior officials were involved in "systematic racial discrimination" against African staffers and other cases of misconduct including misspending of the money intended to fight Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last year.

WHO said it has established mechanisms including an independently-run integrity hotline which anyone can use to report concerns confidentially and anonymously, by which anyone inside or outside the organization can report concerns about any form of suspected misconduct by WHO personnel.

Established in 1948 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO is a specialized international agency which carries on the mission of providing global leadership in public health within the United Nations system.