Category: Women’s health

Can ICT tackle sexual exploitation in the aid industry?

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UN Peacekeepers Photo: UN

On September 29th this year the news broke that more than 50 women accused aid workers for sexual abuse in the Congo Ebola crisis response efforts during 2018-2020. It was the nonprofit news organization The New Humanitarian that after a yearlong investigation into the matter released their findings. The claims that were put forward accused unnamed male workers from mainly the WHO, but also other leading NGOs and UN agencies as well as the  Congolese health ministry, for demanding sex in change for employment. Women shared stories of being pressured to have sexual relations with men to be considered for employment and of contracts being terminated when refusing to engage with the men. The practice was so widely spread that it became known as a “passport to employment” ¹.

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Strengthening public awareness

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Nowadays volunteering is becoming increasingly popular, which also involves projects in health care. The reasons behind volunteering are varied, from taking social responsibility, through gathering new competences till religious motivations. Similarly, the actual impact on local communities is mixed. It was explained earlier which factors we must consider if we wish to help. The lack of adequate knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and a comprehensive understanding of socio-economic characteristics of communities, unfortunately, can easily cause more harm than good. While avoiding economic harm, personal damage and diminishment of confidence should be the main precondition, volunteering in health care settings often requires medical diploma.  In the meantime, there is an increasing focus on global health disparities, such as access to healthcare, health literacy, unaffordability of treatments, and ageing population.

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