GENEVA: Saima Wazed, daughter of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the World Health Organization’s regional director for Southeast Asia, has resigned following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities.
Wazed submitted her resignation Wednesday, according to international news agencies.
The WHO said in a statement that a committee had recommended removing Wazed from her position one day before she resigned.
Wazed took office in 2024 for a five-year term but was placed on unpaid leave late last year amid investigations into allegations against her.
In July 2025, she was also placed on leave after Bangladesh’s interim government Anti-Corruption Commission accused her of fraud and forgery.
The WHO has accused Wazed of serious financial misconduct related to a trip to China and of providing misleading information about her academic qualifications. Wazed has denied the allegations.
The WHO also accused her of illegally acquiring land in Bangladesh.
In her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Wazed said she had acquired the land before joining the WHO and was legally entitled to it under Bangladeshi law that provides privileges to the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader and Sheikh Hasina’s father.
Wazed’s resignation comes as investigations into the allegations continue.
