“After a thorough investigation of the allegations and consultation with the Western Pacific Regional Committee and Executive Board, we have revoked the mandate of the Regional Director,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an email to member states on Wednesday. .
An investigation conducted in accordance with the organization’s zero tolerance policy established a breach of official duty.
This is the first time in WHO history that a regional director has been dismissed.
An internal WHO investigation, the findings of which were presented to the organization’s executive board in Geneva this week, found that Kaszai Taxi regularly harassed staff in Asia, including through “aggressive communications, public humiliation and racist comments”.
Senior WHO managers told the meeting that Kazai Taxi had created a “toxic atmosphere”, and staff feared reprisals for his opposition and mistrust of the organisation.
Several WHO staff working under Kaszai Taxi said the regional director mis-shared sensitive information about a Covid-19 vaccine for the benefit of his country, Japan.
The internal investigation began last January
A few days after the American news agency AP announced last January accusing Kazai Taxi in writing of racism, abuse and unethical behavior by more than thirty employees, the general manager announced the opening of an internal investigation into the case of the regional manager.
The Japanese doctor became the head of the regional directorate in 2019, after previously working for more than fifteen years at the United Nations Specialized Health Organization.
The Western Pacific Regional Directorate includes 37 countries with a combined population of 1.9 billion, including China, Japan, Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and South Korea, MTI writes.
