WHO Southeast Asia head Saima Wazed resigns amid fraud investigations
Saima Wazed resigned as WHO Southeast Asia regional director after the agency recommended her dismissal amid fraud allegations she denies.
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Saima Wazed, the World Health Organisation’s Southeast Asia head and daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Wednesday following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities.
The WHO said a committee recommended Wazed’s dismissal the day before her resignation, according to a statement provided to Reuters on Thursday.
Investigations and leave
Wazed took office as WHO Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024 for a five-year term. The agency placed her on unpaid administrative leave late last year after first sending her on leave in July 2025.
Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, operating under the interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against Wazed in March 2025 alleging fraud and forgery.
The WHO accused Wazed of committing financial fraud related to travel to China and of misrepresenting her academic credentials, according to a July 3, 2026 letter from her lawyers to the WHO seen by Reuters. Wazed has denied the allegations.
Land allegation and response
The WHO also alleged that Wazed illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Wazed said she acquired the land before joining the WHO and was entitled to it under a Bangladeshi law covering the families of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s independence leader and Hasina’s father.
Resignation letter
“I was elected to the position of Regional Director in order to serve the countries in my region, which I had sincerely done,” Wazed wrote in her resignation letter, sent to Tedros late on Wednesday.
She said the WHO had prevented her from effectively carrying out her duties and that she had lost trust and confidence in the organisation’s leadership. Wazed also said that, after nearly a year without remuneration due to her unpaid leave, her financial situation had become untenable.
WHO response
The WHO said its regional committee and executive board would consider Wazed’s resignation.
A spokesperson said the matter had been handled “with due regard for fairness and due process, while safeguarding the interests of the Organisation and its ability to fulfil its mandate.”
Last month, the WHO said Wazed was on leave but declined further comment on her case, citing confidentiality.
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