WHO Regional Director Saima Wazed proceeds on indefinite leave in the wake of corruption charges in Bangladesh

Saima Wazed, Regional Director of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) South-East Asia Region, has proceeded connected indefinite permission from Friday (July 11, 2025), the planetary wellness body’s spokesperson confirmed to The Hindu connected Saturday (July 12, 2025) successful an email response.

The WHO did not respond to the question of wherefore Ms. Wazed had proceeded connected leave. Catharina Boehme is serving arsenic officer-in-charge successful Ms. Wazed place.

The determination follows Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission filing cases against Ms. Wazed for fraud, forgery, and misuse of power. Ms. Wazed is the girl of the erstwhile Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the state successful August 2024.

Ms. Saima Wazed’s assignment arsenic Regional Director has besides been nether question, with charges of having utilized her mother’s power during the campaign, and of providing mendacious accusation connected her world grounds during successful her candidature for the post, allegedly violating Section 468 of the Bangladesh Penal Code (forgery for the intent of cheating), and Section 471 (forging a document). 

According to the WHO’s website, Ms. Wazed took bureau arsenic the WHO Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region connected February 1, 2024, for a five-year term. In this role, Ms. Wazed has been mandated to nonstop planetary wellness enactment successful 11 countries, an country with a colonisation of implicit 2 cardinal people.

Prior to taking up this role, Ms. Wazed served arsenic advisor connected intelligence wellness and autism to the WHO Director-General, and was a subordinate of the WHO’s adept advisory sheet connected intelligence health, her website states. 

Ms. Wazed is simply a licensed schoolhouse psychologist, nationally certified successful the U.S. She was besides Chief Advisor for the Bangladesh government’s National Mental Health Strategic Plan; Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee connected Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders successful Bangladesh; and focal idiosyncratic for radical with disabilities successful the Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.