According to a report by British outlet The Daily Mail, more than half of the members of the World Health Organization’s transgender health policy committee have zero medical background and many are gender activists.
The WHO published brief online biographies for each of the 21 members of this panel in December, which has been tasked with coming up with a guideline on how countries should treat people suffering from gender dysphoria.
According to a news release put out by the WHO, the guideline “will provide evidence and implementation guidance on health sector interventions aimed at increasing access and utilization of quality and respectful health services by trans and gender diverse people.”
The outlet found that out of these 21 members, 11 of them have no formal medical training. Only 10 have medical backgrounds, while seven are transgender individuals, and only eight of them are full-fledged doctors.
The biographies describe multiple members of this new committee as being LGBTQ activists, with some being transgender as well.
For example, Apako Williams was described as “the Founder and Executive Director of Tranz Network Uganda (TNU), a legally registered Company Limited by Guarantee, dedicated to advocating for the human rights of transgender and gender non-conforming persons in Uganda.”
Ayouba El Hamri’s biography mentioned the non-binary committee member as a “trans and feminist activist based in Morocco” and used “they/them” pronouns to describe this individual.
The WHO website also noted that in 2022, Hamri joined the “Queer Women Network as a Board of Directors member.”
The biography of Florence Ashley referred to the individual with “they/them” pronouns and described them as a “transfeminine jurist and bioethicist whose work focuses on trans issues in the legal and healthcare systems.”
The entry noted how Ashley has produced “30 refereed publications in law, bioethics, healthcare, and social sciences,” and has written “Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis” in 2022.
The Daily Mail dug into Ashley’s background, describing her as the “committee’s most controversial and outspoken member.”
The outlet mentioned a TikTok video featuring the transgender individual – who appears to be a biological male – criticizing the processes trans individuals need to take to ensure gender-affirming care is the right treatment for them.
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In it, Ashley asked, “Is there any reason to ask people to go through a lengthy and complex gender assessment in order to access gender-affirming care, or is that useless and should the time best be put in supporting decision-making?”
“Gender assessments are really an unnecessary form of gatekeeping that trans communities have been opposing for a while,” they added.
The article found that committee member Teddy Cook – which WHO mentioned is “ACON’s Director of LGBTQ+ Community Health, overseeing client services and LGBTQ+ health, equity, and harm reduction programs – has made “rosy” statements about the gender transition process.
Cook has claimed that the “actual side effects” of transitioning can include a “significantly improved quality of life… a dramatic decrease in distress, depression and anxiety and a substantial increase of gender euphoria and trans joy,” the outlet noted.
Many people have criticized the WHO panel since it was announced last year. UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem wrote a letter to the WHO’s director general accusing the committee of having “significant unmanaged conflicts of interest.”
Alsalem added, “Stakeholders whose views differ from those held by transgender activist organizations do not appear to have been invited.”
LGBT Courage Coalition Executive Director Jamie Reed claimed in a statement that the committee is comprised of “agenda-driven activists with little or no scientific expertise.”
Reed also organized a petition protesting the committee’s next meeting in February, which has amassed over 8,000 signatures.
WHO Spokesperson Tarik Jašarević told Fox News Digital that this committee is currently in a “notice phase” so “WHO can solicit feedback from the public and relevant stakeholders in accordance with WHO guidelines development procedures.”
“All views will be weighed on the composition of the GDG as part of the guideline development process which begun in 2021,” they said, adding, “We encourage stakeholders to provide feedback to WHO through the channels specified in the above announcement.”
Jašarević also noted that the committee’s guideline is “focused on adults only,” deflecting any potential criticism that WHO is seeking to promote guidance for dealing with transgender minors.
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