Allegations of financial irregularities are likely to be highlighted at a crucial session scheduled shortly in Geneva.
HIROSHI Nakajima, newly re-elected
director general of the World Health
Organisation, could face a demand
for his resignation at WHO's annual
assembly in May in Geneva, unless
allegations of financial irregularities
are resolved.
Nakajima won a hard-fought campaign in January for a second five-year term. Eighteen of WHO's 31-member executive board voted in his
favour, 13 for his former deputy
director-general, Mohammed Abdel-moumene of Algeria, and none for
Nigerian health minister Ilikoyo
Ransome-Kuti.
However, reports have surfaced
since of major irregularities over the
awarding of WHO contracts.
Executive board president Jean-Francois Girard of France says he
was informed of these reports by
WHO's counsel and they should be
reviewed by an independent panel.
Of significance is a US $150,000
contract awarded to A R A Bengzon,
the Philippine delegate on the executive board, to write a history of
health care under former Filipino
president Corazon Aquino. WHO's
internal auditor, Helge Larsen,
alleged in a confidential memorandum leaked to Associated Press (AP),
that "the amount seems totally out of
proportion to the services to be rendered." A further allegation was that
the correct procedure was not followed in awarding the contract.
Bengzon, a former health minister, was the architect of his country's
policy on pharmaceuticals. Denying
that there was anything "irregular"
about the contract, he told the Manila
Times that in supporting Nakajima
he was merely carrying out Manila's
instructions.
But the Sierra Leone delegate, G
Komba-Kono, went against his government by voting for Nakajima and
not for Ransome-Kuti, whom he had
nominated. Komba-Kono lost his
government job, but the AP reports
he was offered a WHO post in
Bangladesh but has not been able to
accept it because of protests by other
WHO officials.
Even before the Nakajima election, senior WHO staff and diplomats
from the major donor countries had
expressed concern over campaign tactics. With
Japan being the only
industrialised country
supporting Nakajima
re-election, the race was
on to secure the votes
of Vote for the
developing countries.
Questions are now
date who
being
raised about an
offer from Nakajima to
nominat
the presidents of
Senegal
and Mexico to
attend an international
meeting
in Rome as his
"special
guests".
An editorial in the
British medical journal,
The Lancet, written
before the revelations
about contracts and
jobs, described the
WHO election as an
"undignified scuffle" and went on to
describe Nakajima's first term
as a
"lacklustre
performance". The journal urged Nakajima "to
Leone
show that he has a
coherent and credible
did not
policy for tackling
the
manifold health problems that face the world".
The latest
revelations have heightened
speculation that the
WHO assembly next
month may take the
unprecedented step of
rejecting the
board election. Nakajima has
promised pro-election
contracts will
be fully
audited before the
assembly meets, but this
may not be
enough to
restore morale at WHO
or confidence among its
main donors.
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