Saima Wazed, the World Health Organisation’s Southeast Asia regional director and daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned from her post amid fraud investigations by Bangladeshi authorities and the UN health agency.
Wazed, who denies the allegations against her, had been on unpaid administrative leave since 2025. Wazed began a five-year term as WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024. According to Reuters, she submitted her resignation to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday. The allegations surrounding her concern financial fraud, her academic credentials and the acquisition of a plot of land in Bangladesh.
Wazed Says She Lost Confidence in WHO Leadership
In her resignation letter, Wazed said she had decided to step down after being prevented from effectively carrying out her responsibilities. She said she had been elected regional director to serve countries in the region and had sincerely carried out that role.
Wazed also said she had lost “all trust and confidence” in Tedros’ leadership and cited the financial impact of being placed on unpaid leave. She said that after nearly a year without remuneration, her financial situation had become untenable, prompting her decision to step aside.
Wazed was first placed on leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, operating under the interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her in March 2025 alleging fraud and forgery.
Reuters reported that a separate letter from Wazed’s lawyers to the WHO, dated July 3, 2026, said the organisation had accused her of financial fraud related to travel to China and of misrepresenting her academic credentials.
Wazed denied the allegations. According to Reuters, she said the travel issue involved $901 and resulted from an administrative oversight by an assistant handling routine reimbursement requests.
On the question of her academic credentials, Wazed said she holds an honorary doctorate for her work on autism in Bangladesh and had been transparent with Tedros about the qualification. She declined to comment further, while the WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
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Land Acquisition Comes Under Scrutiny
The WHO also accused Wazed of illegally acquiring a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to her resignation letter seen by Reuters.
Wazed denied wrongdoing, saying she acquired the land before joining the WHO. She said she was entitled to the property under a Bangladeshi law covering families of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader and Hasina’s father.
Her case comes amid wider legal scrutiny involving members and allies of Hasina’s government following her ouster after a deadly uprising in Bangladesh in 2024. Several of Hasina’s political allies have faced criminal cases, including allegations of corruption, while Hasina has been living in self-imposed exile.
WHO May Hold Fresh Election for Regional Post
Two sources told Reuters that the WHO had been preparing to formally remove Wazed from her position before she resigned.
One source said the organisation was expected to announce nominations for the regional director’s post on October 12, vet applications in December and hold an election on January 24. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Regional directors are among the WHO’s senior health policy officials, overseeing responses to disease outbreaks and emergencies and adapting the organisation’s policies to regional conditions. They are elected every five years by member states in their respective regions, including Bangladesh and India in the Southeast Asia region.
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