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The World Health Organization has announced that the chief of its south-east Asia regional agency is “on leave” following accusations of fraud, and it has taken the unusual step of appointing a senior official from its Geneva headquarters as interim head.
Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in an email to staff last week, seen by the Financial Times, that he had informed regional member states of the period of leave for Saima Wazed, who leads the global health body’s New Delhi-based South East Asia Regional Office (SEARO).
Wazed — the daughter of Sheikh Hasina, the authoritarian former leader of Bangladesh who was toppled last August by a student-led uprising — was charged in March with fraud, forgery and abuse of power by the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission, and faces arrest if she returns from her post in India.
The WHO said in a statement that Wazed was “currently on leave” and that Catharina Boehme, an assistant director-general in the agency’s Geneva headquarters, was “during this period . . . serving as officer-in-charge”.
Boehme’s appointment follows a letter last month by the ACC requesting the WHO help “facilitate” Wazed’s appearance before the Bangladeshi courts and “initiate . . . whatever is demanded . . . for an absconder in a serious criminal offence”.
Among the allegations against her is that she illegally obtained a government residential plot.
The WHO has only limited influence over its constituent regional organisations such as SEARO, which are controlled directly by member countries. However, one international health official said the central agency could intervene in cases of alleged corruption. Member states can also demand an election to replace Wazed.
Wazed was elected regional director of SEARO in 2023 in a contest marked by allegations of nepotism.
Kul Chandra Gautam, a former assistant UN secretary-general, called Wazed’s résumé “very thin” at the time, adding: “If she were not the daughter of the PM, I don’t think she would be a serious candidate.”
Wazed had said such nepotism allegations were “offensive” and she had the necessary skills for the job.
SEARO, with an annual budget of more than $500mn, plays an important role in health policy and programmes across 11 countries covering 2bn people in the region.
However, since Wazed’s election, it has been hit by Indonesia’s decision in May to withdraw from SEARO and join the WHO’s Western Pacific Region.
Bangladesh’s interim government, which took power after Sheikh Hasina was ousted and is led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, welcomed reports Wazed was on leave.
“We view this as an important first step towards accountability,” the government told the FT. “We firmly believe that a permanent resolution is necessary, one that removes Ms Wazed from her position, revokes all associated privileges and restores integrity to this prestigious role and the credibility of the UN system as a whole.”
Wazed is accused of leveraging her position and political ties to illicitly funnel approximately Tk330mn ($2.7mn) through the Shuchona Foundation, a Bangladesh-based non-profit she chairs.
According to ACC officials, several banks were allegedly pressured into routing funds to the foundation, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest, abuse of power and lack of transparency.
Authorities have seized some of Wazed’s assets and are seeking her arrest through an Interpol red notice. A court in Dhaka, the capital, ordered the confiscation of her apartment in the upscale Gulshan neighbourhood, citing the need to prevent any asset transfers during legal proceedings.
Wazed, who is a psychologist and an advocate for autism awareness, has not publicly responded to the allegations. She did not respond to repeated requests from the FT for comment.
Her brother, Sajeeb Wazed, has dismissed the wider corruption investigations targeting the family as politically motivated, describing them as part of a “smear campaign” by Yunus’s administration.
Tulip Siddiq, Sheikh Hasina’s niece as well as a Labour MP and a close ally of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was forced to stand down as the UK’s anti-corruption minister after allegations that she had benefited from properties linked to the Awami League, the former ruling party.
Bangladesh later issued an arrest warrant for her. Siddiq’s lawyers said there was “no basis at all for any charges to be made against her, and there is absolutely no truth in any allegation that she received a plot of land in Dhaka through illegal means”.
Kent Buse, a professor at Monash University Malaysia, called for an overhaul of the election process for WHO regional offices, saying such measures “might have raised concerns about her candidacy if implemented”. Potential reforms included a more rigorous vetting process, greater transparency in campaign financing and integrity to be a guiding principle.
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