“Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole said in an emailed response to Reuters.

Waqanivalu, a Fijian doctor who headed a unit on noncommunicable diseases at the global health agency’s Geneva headquarters, did not immediately respond to a request to comment via telephone or email.

A source familiar with the proceedings said Waqanivalu had denied the allegations throughout the investigation.

“Sexual misconduct of any kind by anyone working for WHO – be it as staff, consultant, partner – is unacceptable,” Poole added in the statement.

Waqanivalu could appeal internally to the WHO and, failing that, to a tribunal at the International Labour Organization (ILO), Poole said.

Dr Rosie James, who works for England’s National Health Service, made her complaint in a Twitter message in October last year.