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 on indefinite leave from Friday (July 11, 2025), the global health body’s spokesperson confirmed to The Hindu on Saturday (July 12, 2025) in an email response.

The WHO did not respond to the question of why Ms. Wazed had proceeded on leave. Catharina Boehme is serving as officer-in-charge in Ms. Wazed place.

The move follows Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission filing cases against Ms. Wazed for fraud, forgery, and misuse of power. Ms. Wazed is the daughter of the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled the country in August 2024.

Ms. Saima Wazed’s appointment as Regional Director has also been under question, with charges of having used her mother’s influence during the campaign, and of providing false information on her academic record during in her candidature for the post, allegedly violating Section 468 of the Bangladesh Penal Code (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and Section 471 (forging a document). 

According to the WHO’s website, Ms. Wazed took office as the WHO Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region on February 1, 2024, for a five-year term. In this role, Ms. Wazed has been mandated to direct international health work in 11 countries, an area with a population of over two billion people.

Prior to taking up this role, Ms. Wazed served as advisor on mental health and autism to the WHO Director-General, and was a member of the WHO’s expert advisory panel on mental health, her website states. 

Ms. Wazed is a licensed school psychologist, nationally certified in the U.S. She was also Chief Advisor for the Bangladesh government’s National Mental Health Strategic Plan; Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Bangladesh; and focal person for people with disabilities in the Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.