At UN, Unlicensed Doctors Give and Take Valium, UN's Darfur General Agwai's Wife Moonlights for NGO

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un1medical042309.html

UNITED NATIONS, April 24 -- In midtown Manhattan a group of largely unlicensed doctors and nurses are dispensing and in some cases taking and self-medicating with Valium, Diazepam, Demerol, Ambien and other controlled narcotics.

While anywhere else in the U.S. this would be a straight forward felony case, since it is taking place within the United Nations' compound on 42nd Street east of First Avenue, technically international territory, American authorities have yet to take action. The UN's Ethics Office, Ombudsman and Office of Internal Oversight Services have been informed, and even provided with photographs, but have done nothing.

Sources inside the UN have painted for Inner City Press a detailed picture of the operations of the UN Medical Service, housed on the 5th floor of UN headquarters, just above the Press floor. Deputy Director Serguei Oleinikov, these sources say, is both unlicensed and outside of the law. He recently signed off on the “disposal” of dozens of Valium tablets which had yet to reach the expiration date. Click here for a photo of a sample sign-out sheet, and see below.

Tellingly, one of the unlicensed nurses is the wife of the Force Commander of the UN - African Union Hybrid Force in Darfur, Martin Luther Agwai, a Nigerian general. Ruth Martin Agwai, sources says, spends much of her time moonlighting for a non-governmental organization, the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA). Click here for Mrs. Agwai's letter about NAOWA. Sources say she has used the diplomatic pouch and privileges of the Nigerian Mission to the UN in order to spirit out of the country Accutech medical equipment.

These irregularities were brought to Inner City Press' attention after its reporting on the death of UN staff member Jesmel Navoa last month. Mr. Navoa had a stroke while working at 6:45 p.m. in the UN's publishing shop in the third sub-basement. New York's emergency services 911 was not called in a timely manner, and it took an hour for a New York City ambulance to arrive. There was no doctor on duty in the UN medical service, and none of the staff present had been trained in appropriate Life Support technique. Click here for Inner City Press' exclusive story.

The director of the Medical Service, Brian Davey, held a staff meeting this week at which he referred to the Inner City Press story, and belatedly sought to train staff in how and when to call 911. Sources link the UN medical service to other deaths in the UN on which we will be reporting again in the future.

Mr. Davey's predecessor Sudershan Narula was Kofi Annan's private doctor, was kept on past retirement age and left when Annan did. Click here for a previous Inner City Press story about Dr. Narula. Mr. Oleinikov's predecessor, a Dr. Salam, was a relative of the previous Secretary-General, Boutros Boutros Ghali, and was alleged to have mis-treated UN staff members in Africa. Currently, talk at the UN is of a tourniquet mis-applied such that a staff member has faced losing a foot to amputation. Such are the dangers of nepotism combined with unlicensed and under-supervised practice.

The nepotism of the UN Medical Service is not limited to hiring, but extends to referral. Recently a relative, Dr. Ma, was belated taken off the UN's referral list. Previously, the husband of Kofi Annan's top aide Elizabeth Lindenmayer was said to be a doctor on the UN's referral list.

The UN Medical Service is not supposed to be anyone's primary care giver. But despite this, controlled substances are given out, sometimes by nurses without a UN "doctor's" orders. Additionally, these UN "doctors" receive and sometimes keep sample medicines and sexual aids from pharmaceutical companies. Recently, as the US Drug Enforcement Agency has been informed of these irregularities, some forms of inventory control have belated been implemented. But well placed sources describe this as a cover-up, not a reform.

The UN medical service is part of the Office of Human Resources Management, headed by Catherine Pollard, which in turn is part of the Department of Management, headed by Angela Kane. Inner City Press has previously covered a pattern in which the UN Pension Fund sent staff members who complained against management for mandatory mental check-ups in the medical service. There is a counter-trend in which staff members with supporters in high places are given Long Term Disability letters, to be paid without working, and these ruling are never put into a date base that can be audited.

These uses of the Medical Service would, of course, be contrary to the Hippocratic Oath. These issues, including the unlicensed practice of medicine and dispensing of controlled narcotics go further, and are crimes.

In some but not all cases, the UN medical staff at issue have kept up licensing in the countries they come from. Even this would not be acceptable anywhere else in New York or the United States. But sources tell Inner City Press that several have not even kept up their overseas licenses, may not even ever have had them. The medical service, they say, is shot through with nepotism, such as the hiring and lack of supervision of the wife of the UN's Darfur General, Martin Luther Agwai. The sources describe other questionable behavior by Agwai, in Darfur, that is beyond the current scope of this medical series.

For now the questions are not only how has the UN and its medical service gotten away with this for so long, but also why the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), headed by Inga-Britt Ahlenius, did nothing when told about this. OIOS investigator Florin Postica was told, in detail, and was even provided with photographs of the controlled narcotics. Yet no action was taken. Likewise, Susan John of the UN Ethics Office, headed by Robert Benson, was told part of this troubling story, and has apparently done nothing. Ms. Ahlenius has systematically refused Press questions and has not held a briefing in many months. Ban Ki-moon's Spokesperson's Office cancelled its Q&A on April 20, and resisted taking any range of questions in the days after that. Responses will be reported after they are received.

Even the UN's Capital Master Plan can be impacted, as unlicensed staff in the UN medical service are rebelling against a planned move to a rented office space on Second Avenue and 42nd Street, over Innovation Luggage and a liquor store. There, the lack of licenses and the dispensing of controlled narcotics could, they fear, subject them to arrest. Attempts are being made to keep them within the UN compound east of First Avenue, beyond the reach of the law. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un1medical042309.html

At UN, Union Demands Investigation of Deadly Ambulance Delay, Departure of UN Security Chief

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/undss5chaos031909.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 19 -- While the UN Administration refuses to provide answers about its delay of ambulance responding to the fatal stroke of UN staff member Jesmel Navoa on March 5 in the Organization's basement printing plant, Thursday the UN Staff Union adopted a resolution relating Mr. Navoa's death to the management of the UN Department of Safety and Security.

In a closed-door meeting Thursday afternoon, union Unit leaders decried that David Veness, the DSS chief who ostensibly resigned more than a year ago after the deadly bombing of the UN in Algiers, remains in place, adding to "uncertainty." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was called to do more to ensure safety, including access by emergency services.

Concerned rank and file security staff intend to meet with Ban's Deputy Asha Rose Migiro following Veness' refusal to implement a previous Staff Union resolution which called for an independent, external investigation of promotion and placement irregularities they said was documented by a leaked internal e-mail published by Inner City Press on February 6. Migiro will be asked to start the investigation. At Thursday's Staff Union meeting, the call was for an investigation of the circumstances of Mr. Navoa's death by the Office of Internal Oversight Services. Staff members linked the death of Mr. Navoa to one a year ago on the journalist's floor for of the UN, also reported on by Inner City Press, here.

On the evening of March 5, Mr. Navoa had a stroke in the printing plant in the UN's third sub-basement. According to his colleagues present on the scene, there was a near hour-long delay in an ambulance being let it. The next day, Mr. Navoa died in the hospital. Inner City Press ran an exclusive report and then on March 9 asked UN Deputy Spokesman Marie Okabe

Inner City Press: Thursday of last week...there was a death that took place in the building in the third subbasement and they have expressed concern that the ambulance wasn’t allowed in for an hour. I am wondering if you’re aware of that and what is the protocol for that?

Deputy Spokesperson: I am not aware of that, but I will look into that and we will get you something.

Ten days later, no information has been provided. Now questioning is expanding. When will answers be provided? Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/undss5chaos031909.html

At UN, Talk of Printing Plant Stroke Death and Ambulance Delay, Dangers Unmitigated After One Year, Workers Say

Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un2ambulance030609.html

UNITED NATIONS, March 6 -- There was a buzz both angry and sad among staff at the UN on Friday, about the death of a printing worker, Jesmel Navoa, who had a stroke the previous night in the third basement publishing plant. According to colleagues of his, it took nearly an hour for a New York City ambulance to be allowed into to attend to him. They offered to carry him themselves for treatment, but were told that they couldn't.

Speaking to Inner City Press on condition on anonymity -- they expressed fear of retaliation even for disclosing this -- they described another situation slightly more than a year ago, in which a printing plant worker had his fingers crushed in a machine, and again the arrival of medical services was delayed.

They questioned why, other than during the September to October General Assembly meeting period, there is not even a nurse on duty when they work the night shift. They said it makes them question the United Nations Organization and its commitment to the basic rights of its own line workers, despite its pronouncements about the right of others.

"Imagine," one of the dead man's colleagues told Inner City Press, "we work on 42nd Street on the island of Manhattan and it takes an hour for an ambulance to reach us."

What's worse in this situation is that a year ago, the same problem arose, and while a journalist died of a stroke on the UN's third floor, a New York Fire Department vehicle was stopped at the UN's gate from First Avenue. When Inner City Press reported on that story, the UN Spokesperson's office pushed back, denying the time line, implying it would not happen again. Now, according to UN printing plant staff, it has happened again. Where will accountability lie?

Last year, at the Feb. 22, 2008 UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked:

Inner City Press: How long did it take and what is the policy of the UN on letting emergency medical personnel on the UN property?

Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq: First of all, there were emergency medical personnel on hand at the time. As I just mentioned, three UN security officers who are qualified EMTs performed CPR on Mr. Janitschek, and there was no sign of life at the time. A defibrillator was used to try to start his heart, to no avail, and appropriate medical protocols were followed. The person who was with Mr. Janitschek, Mr. Casella, your colleague, had immediately called the UN operator, who called security, who then called the emergency responders, including a direct call to New York hospital. The first responder was actually a fire engine truck. They were not allowed in, because they could not provide the level of care needed, compared to the trained EMTs, who were there on site already, the three UN security officers. An ambulance arrived 10 seconds later, and that ambulance and paramedics were let in directly. Like I said, all of that was to no avail, ultimately. Mr. Janitschek gave no sign of life throughout this process.

Inner City Press: First of all, who decides whether to let in or not to let in a New York City fire truck? And what is the policy of the UN in terms of this? Does it automatically allow emergency or fire personnel without [searching or blocking them]?

Associate Spokesperson: We have the protocol to call in emergency responders when there is an emergency in the building, and that protocol was followed. As far as checking vehicles that come in, that is a standard security procedure, but that did not result in any significant delay. Like I said, the ambulance and paramedics were let in directly.

The UN later added that [After the briefing, the Spokesperson’s Office confirmed that the ambulance was not stopped at the front gate at all.]

Editor's note: beyond that fact that several witnesses continue to describe the searching of the ambulance, no one has rebutted or even denied the 24 minute response time. In the UN's scripted statement at Friday's noon briefing, highlighted above, it is said that a fire truck was denied entry. A UN security officer after the briefing confirmed that when FDNY vehicles come to the UN, the policy is to not let them in unless there is / the UN is aware of a fire. There's a problem: FDNY took over EMS ambulances some time ago, and FDNY personnel are trained in the procedures which were needed that February 2008 night. So why have a policy that includes turning away official NYC emergency responders from the FDNY? Now, there's this event in March 2009. Watch this site.

And see, www.innercitypress.com/un2ambulance030609.html