Sheikh Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed resigns as WHO regional head after fraud allegations

SAIMA Wazed, daughter of deposed former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has resigned as the World Health Organization's regional director for Southeast Asia following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladesh authorities.

Wazed, who took charge of the WHO's Southeast Asia regional office in early 2024 for a five-year term, submitted her resignation to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday, according to a resignation letter seen by Reuters.

Her resignation comes after she was placed on unpaid administrative leave amid allegations including financial fraud, misrepresentation of academic credentials and illegal acquisition of land in Bangladesh. Wazed has denied the allegations.

Who is Saima Wazed?

Saima Wazed is the daughter of Sheikh Hasina, who was ousted as Bangladesh's prime minister following a deadly uprising around mid-2024.

Wazed was elected WHO regional director for Southeast Asia in 2023 and took office in early 2024. Regional directors are among the WHO's most influential health policy officials, overseeing responses to outbreaks and emergencies and adapting the organisation's policies to regional conditions.

The directors are elected every five years by member states in their respective regions. Bangladesh and India are among the countries in the WHO's Southeast Asia region.

Before joining the WHO, Wazed was known for her work on autism in Bangladesh. She has also said that she holds an honorary doctorate related to that work.

Why was Saima Wazed placed on leave?

The WHO placed Wazed on unpaid administrative leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission filed charges against her in March that year alleging fraud and forgery.

According to a July 2026 letter from her lawyers to the WHO, seen by Reuters, the organisation accused Wazed of financial fraud connected to travel to China and of misrepresenting her academic credentials.

The WHO also alleged that she had illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to Wazed's resignation letter.

Wazed has denied the allegations.

On the travel-related accusation, her lawyers said it involved $901 and was an administrative oversight by an assistant handling routine reimbursement requests.

On the academic credentials allegation, Wazed said she holds an honorary doctorate for her work on autism in Bangladesh and had been transparent with Tedros about the qualification.

What did Wazed say about the land allegation?

She said she was entitled to the property under a Bangladeshi law covering the families of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh's independence leader and her maternal grandfather.

In her resignation letter, Wazed criticised the WHO leadership and said she had lost confidence in Tedros.

"I was elected to the position of Regional Director in order to serve the countries in my region, which I had sincerely done," she wrote.

She said the WHO's decision to keep her on leave had prevented her from carrying out her responsibilities.

"Since you continue to prevent me from effectively carrying out my duties, I have lost all trust and confidence in your leadership of WHO," Wazed wrote.

She also said that going nearly a year without remuneration had made her financial situation "untenable".

"In these circumstances, I am choosing to step aside," she wrote.

WHO was reportedly preparing to replace her

Two sources told Reuters that the WHO had been preparing to formally remove Wazed from the regional director position.

One of the sources said the organisation planned to announce nominations for the post on October 12, vet applications in December and hold elections on January 24.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.