Controversial Bangladeshi World Health Organization regional director put on indefinite leave

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - The Bangladeshi regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Saima Wazed, who is the daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was put on indefinite leave Friday amid corruption investigations, according to a report by Health Policy Watch, a network of journalists in the global North and South reporting on health and policy trends.

Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed cases accusing Wazed of fraud, forgery and abuse of power.

ACC filed the cases four months ago against Wazed, who took office in January 2024, amid demands not to appoint her to the post from students who led a popular uprising last August that ousted her mother from power.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus notified staff in an internal email that Wazed would be on leave and Assistant Director-General Catharina Boehme would “serve as the Officer in Charge” in Wazed’s place, according to the report.

ACC said Wazed had been charged with providing false information about her academic record during her campaign for regional director and misrepresented her qualifications by claiming an honorary role at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka to secure her WHO position. The school disputes Wazed’s honorary role.

Wazed is also accused of having misused her power and influence to collect $2.8 million from various banks for the Shuchona Foundation, which she once headed.

Wazed has been avoiding her Bangladesh office since she has been facing arrest warrants in a series of corruption cases along with her mother and other family members.

“We view this as an important first step toward accountability,” said a Facebook post from a spokesman for transitional government head Muhammad Yunus.

“We firmly believe that a permanent resolution is necessary, one that removes Wazed from her position, revokes all associated privileges and restores integrity to this prestigious role and the credibility of the UN system as a whole,” it said.

​​​​​​​The World Health Organization's South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) has 11 member states in the region.