THE advocacy group Quit for Good has expressed concerns over the dismissal of the Manila-based regional director for Western Pacific of the World Health Organization (WHO) over racism and abuse of employee treatment issues.
Regional director in the Western Pacific Dr. Takeshi Kasai was fired earlier this month after an internal investigation showed “findings of misconduct.” The probe was prompted by complaints of unethical behavior submitted by some 30 staff members, which may have compromised WHO’s pandemic response in the region. It is the first time in WHO’s history that a regional director has been dismissed.
Quit for Good said it is worried that the WHO’s “lack of transparency and ineptitude” and the “horrible racism within its ranks” would manifest itself when it convenes this November the 10th Conference of Parties (COP) for its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) treaty.
“We don’t want a bunch of racist bureaucrats discriminating against marginalized Filipino farmers and poor Filipino smokers who will be deprived of better alternatives to cigarettes,” said Dr. Lorenzo Mata, president of Quit for Good.
Mata, a leading voice on Tobacco Harm Reduction who has spoken about the advocacy in global platforms like the Asia Harm Reduction Forum and the Scientific Summit on Tobacco Harm Reduction, said this is the latest in a string of scandals that has tainted WHO’s reputation in the region, following its flip-flopping stance on smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes like heated tobacco products and vapes.
The FCTC is a global accord on tobacco control under the auspices of the WHO and governed by the COP composed of representatives from all signatories to the treaty. The FCTC conducts a biennial meeting to discuss the progress of the treaty’s implementation and policy recommendations for its member states.
The Philippines is a signatory to the FCTC and decisions made at the COP could affect millions of Filipinos dependent on the tobacco industry.
Allegations against Kasai describing a toxic atmosphere and “a culture of systemic bullying” which “reflected the experiences of more than 50 people” were first laid out in an anonymous internal complaint in 2021 and an email in 2022 sent to senior WHO leadership.
The email accused Kasai of disrespecting WHO’s own pandemic guidelines by supposedly forcing employees to return to the office during Manila’s lockdown period. Ignoring staff concerns, Kasai, allegedly in a 2020 internal email, said the office “must remain functional” even if three people on the Manila team had already contracted COVID.
WHO staffers likewise said Kasai purportedly abused the privileges of his position by providing confidential data to the Japanese government that allegedly allowed Japan to strategize targeted vaccination donations to its neighbouring countries, paving the way to secure political leverage over the region.
Personnel also supposedly faced pressure from Kasai to prioritize vaccine donations from Japan over the U.N-backed COVAX effort.
“The WHO found itself in the same situation two years ago when their credibility took a hit in the Philippines. They previously stated that e-cigarettes are equally as harmful as cigarettes, but they backtracked during a congressional hearing when they admitted that e-cigarettes are less harmful,” Mata said.
“The staff complaint has existed since 2021. The staff exhausted all means available. Yet WHO leadership failed to take decisive action until now. How can we expect accountability and impartiality from the WHO when this is how it handles internal matters of global consequence? This clearly calls into question WHO’s competence and capacity,” he also said.
Under WHO’s governance structure, regional directors are answerable only to the member countries that elect them and to the executive board that confirms their selection. Kasai was elected by member countries in the Western Pacific in 2019.
