WHO sends Saima Wazed on indefinite leave amid corruption allegations

Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) regional director for the South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), has been sent on indefinite leave from Friday (11 July).

The WHO took the decision four months after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed two cases against her for fraud, forgery and misuse of power, according to a report of Health Policy Watch, an independent global health reporting platform.

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus notified staff in a brief internal email that Wazed would be on leave from Friday and that WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Catharina Boehme would “serve as the Officer in Charge” in Wazed’s place.

The charges against Saima Wazed, daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who fled the country last August after protests, stem from her bid to be appointed regional director.

Saima Wazed took office in January 2024 but her campaign was shadowed by claim that her influential mother used her influence to ensure her daughter’s election, the report read.

According to the formal charges, Saima Wazed was alleged to have provided false information about her academic record during her campaign for regional director, violating Section 468 of the Bangladesh Penal Code (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and Section 471 (forging a document).

The ACC also alleged that she misrepresented her qualifications by claiming an honorary role at the then Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, which the university disputes, to secure her WHO position. Wazed is also accused of having misused her power and influence to collect about US$ 2.8 million from various banks for the Shuchona Foundation, which she used to head.