Saima Wazed, the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Southeast Asia regional director and daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned from her position on Wednesday amid fraud investigations by the UN health agency and Bangladeshi authorities, Reuters reported, citing her resignation letter.
In her resignation letter, reviewed by Reuters, Wazed said she decided to step down after being unable to effectively perform her responsibilities. “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, according to Reuters. She also said she had lost “all trust and confidence” in Tedros’ leadership and pointed to the financial difficulties caused by being placed on unpaid leave. Wazed said that after nearly a year without receiving remuneration, her financial circumstances had become unsustainable, prompting her decision to step aside.
Wazed was initially placed on leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, functioning under the interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her in March 2025 alleging fraud and forgery. Wazed said the travel-related issue involved $901 and resulted from an administrative oversight by an assistant responsible for routine reimbursement requests, according to Reuters.
Regarding 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. Earlier reporting noted: The WHO later accused Wazed of “committing financial fraud in relation to her 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. “We view this as an important first step toward accountability,” then-chief adviser’s press secretary Shafiqul Alam had said in 2025.
Earlier reporting noted: Wazed’s removal from her WHO role had previously been welcomed by Bangladesh’s interim government as a step towards accountability. Earlier reporting noted: Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization’s Southeast Asia regional director and daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned from her post following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
