Aid workers at charity Medecins Sans Frontieres used local prostitutes while working in Africa, whistleblowers have told the Victoria Derbyshire programme. Female former employees said the behaviour was widespread. One said a senior colleague said it was possible to barter medication in exchange for sex. The charity said it does not tolerate "abuse, harassment or exploitation". The use of prostitutes is banned by MSF under its strict code of conduct.
The women spoke anonymously for fear of being blacklisted by foreign aid agencies, among which there can be a large crossover of staff. The allegations were made against logistical staff, and not doctors or nurses, at MSF - one of the world's biggest foreign aid agencies, also known as Doctors Without Borders.
One former employee, who worked out of the charity's London office, said she had seen a senior member of staff bring girls back to MSF accommodation while posted in Kenya. "The girls were very young and rumoured to be prostitutes," she said, adding that it was "implicit" that they were there for sex. "My colleague, who was staying in the same residence for a long time, felt that this was a regular occurrence," she said.
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