Sheikh Hasina’s daughter resigns as WHO regional head after fraud allegations

New Delhi: Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Southeast Asia regional director and daughter of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned from her post on Wednesday (September 9) amid fraud allegations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities, news agency Reuters reported.

Wazed assumed office as the WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024 for a five-year term. However, she was placed on unpaid administrative leave late last year after initially being sent on leave in July 2025, when Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission, under an interim government led by Muhammad Yunus that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her alleging fraud and forgery.

In her resignation letter, seen by Reuters, Wazed accused the WHO of preventing her from carrying out her responsibilities and said her financial situation had become untenable after spending nearly a year on unpaid leave.

According to a separate letter sent by Wazed’s lawyers to the WHO on July 3, she was accused of “committing financial fraud in relation to her travel to China” and of misrepresenting her academic credentials, Reuters reported.

The WHO also alleged that Wazed had illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh. Wazed, however, said she had acquired the land before joining the WHO and was entitled to it under Bangladeshi law covering the families of the country’s independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father.

Hasina has been living in Delhi since August 2024 after fleeing Bangladesh following a student-led uprising. She faces an arrest warrant in Bangladesh and a request for extradition. Wazed has also been based in Delhi since November 2023, following her appointment as the WHO’s regional director for Southeast Asia.

Wazed has denied the fraud allegations against her.

In her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, sent late Wednesday, Wazed said she had been elected to serve the countries in her region and had “sincerely done” so. She accused the WHO leadership of continuing to prevent her from effectively carrying out her duties and said she had lost “all trust and confidence” in its leadership.

“Moreover, after nearly one year without any remuneration following your decision to place me on unpaid leave, my financial situation has become untenable. In these circumstances, I am choosing to step aside,” she wrote.

The Indian Express reported that Wazed had previously sought an independent inquiry into the WHO’s actions against her. She had reportedly raised the issue with Ghebreyesus several times and complained that the decision to place her on administrative leave had been taken “without following due process”.

Wazed’s appointment as the WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director had been under scrutiny from the outset. She faced nepotism allegations over claims that she had used her mother’s influence during her campaign for the post. She was also accused of providing false information about her academic record, allegedly violating Section 468 of the Bangladesh Penal Code, which deals with forgery for the purpose of cheating, and Section 471, which concerns using a forged document.

Citing two sources, Reuters reported that the WHO was already preparing to formally remove Wazed from the position. One source said the agency would announce nominations for the post on October 12, vet applications in December and hold elections on January 24.

Wazed is a licensed school psychologist in the United States. As WHO regional director for Southeast Asia, she was responsible for directing international health work across 11 countries representing a population of more than two billion people.