Advocates Urge Accountability Amid WHO Corruption Allegations

Monday, 7 April 2025, 12:50 pm
Press Release: CAPHRA

The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) has called for an urgent review of funding to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), and the WHO Southeast Asia Regional Office (SEARO) citing ongoing governance failures, widening health inequalities, and corruption allegations within the organisation’s global leadership.

“Two years after Dr Kasai’s dismissal, WPRO remains plagued by dysfunction,” said Nancy Loucas, Executive Coordinator of CAPHRA. “Despite promises of reform, the office continues to prioritise bureaucracy over meaningful change. The injection of USD$30 million through WHO’s 2024 Investment Round risks perpetuating a broken system that fails to address the region’s most pressing health challenges, such as the deaths of millions in the combined regions from unsafe tobacco product use.”

While the appointment of Dr Saia Piukala as the first Pacific-born Regional Director in 2023 was seen as progress, Loucas questions why WPRO has yet to deliver on its mandates. “Noncommunicable diseases account for nearly 87% of deaths in the region, yet tobacco use and alcohol consumption are rising unchecked. Meanwhile, catastrophic health expenditures are driving 28% of Pacific families into poverty due to out-of-pocket costs,” she said.

Loucas also raised concerns about broader corruption within WHO leadership, pointing to allegations in Bangladesh involving financial mismanagement and unethical practices by senior officials. “The issues in Bangladesh highlight a troubling pattern across WHO offices globally. Member states must ask whether their contributions are improving public health or shielding corrupt leaders,” she said.

“Member states must demand transparency from WPRO and SEARO,” she said. “Where is the promised internal audit into harassment cases following Kasai’s dismissal? Why are workplace reforms still incomplete two years later? And why is so much funding directed toward administrative costs rather than community-led health programmes?”

Loucas stressed that without independent oversight and civil society involvement, new funding risks enabling further governance scandals rather than solving critical health challenges. “Until both SEARO and WPRO demonstrates genuine reform and accountability, every dollar risks enabling the next corruption crisis,” she concluded.

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