U.N workers in Yemen are under investigation for allegedly enriching themselves from the massive flow of international aid sent to deal with the country's humanitarian crisis. One agency chief allegedly hired two people just to take care of his dog.
FILE - In this March 30, 2019 file photo, women are treated for suspected cholera infection at Al-Sabeen hospital, in Sanaa, Yemen. An Associated Press investigation found some of the United Nations aid workers sent in to Yemen amid a humanitarian crisis caused by five years of civil war have been accused of enriching themselves from an outpouring of donated food, medicine and money. Documents from an internal probe of the U.N.
The October 2018 scene at the Sanaa airport is another episode in the continuing struggle over corruption that has diverted donated food, medicine, fuel and money from desperate Yemenis amid their country’s five-year civil war. A second probe by another U.N. agency, UNICEF, focuses on a staffer who allowed a Houthi rebel leader to travel in agency vehicles, shielding him from potential airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition. The individuals who spoke to AP about the investigations did so on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“We see big numbers, billions of dollars reaching Yemen, and we don’t know where they go,” Feda Yahia, a “Where is the Money?” activist, said in a video for the campaign.The WHO probe of its Yemen office began in November with allegations of financial mismanagement against Nevio Zagaria, an Italian doctor, who was chief of the agency’s Sanaa office from 2016 until September 2018, according to three individuals with direct knowledge of the investigation.
“The Office of Internal Oversight Services is currently investigating all concerns raised,” he said. “We must respect the confidentiality of this process and are unable go into details on specific concerns.”Zagaria, a 20-year WHO employee, arrived in Yemen in December 2016, after a four-year stint in the Philippines. He had earned widespread acclaim for his handling of the agency’s response to Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013.
Two of them — a Filipino university student and a former intern — were given senior posts, but their only role was to take care of Zagaria’s dog, two of the officials said. Four people aware of the activities in the office said a WHO staffer named Tamima al-Ghuly was the one who notified the Houthis that the investigators were leaving with the laptops. They said she had been fabricating payrolls, adding ghost employees and collecting their salaries or taking cash to hire people. Among those she put on the payroll was her husband, a member of a leading Houthi family, they said.
Because they are supposed to be restricted to emergencies, there is no requirement that spending of these direct transfers be itemized. Zagaria approved direct transfers of cash worth a total of $1 million for certain staffers, according to internal documents. But in many cases it was unclear how they spent the money.
When contacted by the AP, Zein declined comment and said he had left his post at the health ministry. Javed could not be reached for comment. UNICEF officials confirmed that as part of an ongoing probe, an investigative team had traveled to Yemen to look into the allegations. They said Javed has been transferred to another office but did not disclose the location.
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