Saima Wazid of Bangladesh elected WHO Regional Director

Dhaka, 2 November: The World Health Organisation has chosen Saima Wazed of Bangladesh to serve as its regional director for South-East Asia. There are eleven member countries in the region.

Nepal’s Shambhu Acharya was vanquished by Wazed, the daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh. On February 1, 2024, Wazed will take over as Regional Director, for a four-year tenure.

During the 76th session, which was held in New Delhi, votes were cast to choose the Regional Director. Acharya received two votes in support and Wazed eight. The 154th meeting of the WHO Executive Board, which takes place in Geneva from January 22 to 27, will propose her name. After Sayyad, Wazed is the second Bangladeshi.

There were accusations of nepotism made against Wazed. Wazid was chosen through secret voting by the health ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and East Timor.