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
Wazed, who began her five-year term as WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024, had been on unpaid administrative leave since last year. Her resignation comes amid allegations involving financial fraud, her academic credentials and the acquisition of a plot of land in Bangladesh.
Lost confidence in WHO leadership: Wazed
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.
Investigations into fraud, credentials
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.
Reuters reported that, in a separate letter dated July 3, 2026, Wazed’s lawyers told the WHO that the organisation had accused her of financial fraud linked to travel to China and of misrepresenting her academic credentials.
However, Wazed has denied the allegations.
According to Reuters, Wazed said the travel-related issue involved $901 and resulted from an administrative oversight by an assistant responsible for routine reimbursement requests.
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.
Wazed declined to comment further, while the WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
According to her resignation letter seen by Reuters, the WHO also accused Wazed of illegally acquiring a plot of land in Bangladesh.
Wazed denied any wrongdoing, saying she had acquired the land before joining the WHO. She said she was legally entitled to the property under a Bangladeshi law that covers the families of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding leader and Hasina’s father.
Her case comes amid a wider scrutiny of members and allies of Hasina’s government following her ouster after a deadly uprising in Bangladesh in 2024.
