WHO regional head placed on leave amid corruption allegations
Saima Wazed, the daughter of Bangladesh's ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was elected as head of the WHO's South East Asia (SEARO) regional office in November 2023.
But the victory was marred by claims her mother used her influence to garner support, and the 52-year-old Ms Wazed was charged by Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission in March. The authorities have since seized some of her assets.
Among the accusations against her are claims that she forged documents while campaigning to become the regional director, and leveraged her political ties to channel some $2.7 million through a Bangladesh non-profit that she chairs called the Shuchona Foundation.
A spokesperson for the WHO said: 'WHO's Regional Director, SEARO, Saima Wazed, is currently on leave. During this period, Dr Catharina Boehme is serving as Officer-in-Charge.'
Ms Wazed did not respond to questions from The Telegraph and has not commented publicly on the WHO's decision.
Her brother, Sajeeb Wazed, previously described the corruption investigation as a 'smear campaign' by the new Bangladesh administration, headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
An unnamed official from Mr Yunus' administration told the Financial Times that Ms Wazed's removal is an 'important first step towards accountability' and 'restores integrity to this prestigious role'.
The WHO's SEARO region is headquartered in India. Since a warrant was issued for Ms Wazed's arrest in Bangladesh she's been unable to return, while the country's WHO office has reportedly refused to work with her as regional-director. Her ability to travel to other places in the region has also been curtailed.
SEARO is one of six WHO regions, and covers two billion people in 10 countries – in May this year, Indonesia swapped to be part of the Western Pacific region instead.
It has an annual budget of more than $500 million (£371 million), and has a significant role in health-related policies and programmes across the area.
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