Saima Wazed has officially tendered her resignation from her position as Regional Director for South-East Asia at the World Health Organization (WHO), following ongoing internal investigations into misrepresentation of academic credentials and financial improprieties.
International news agency Reuters confirmed on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) that Wazed submitted her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Following the fall of the Awami League regime in the 2024 mass uprising, anti-corruption probes initiated in Bangladesh against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her family members prompted WHO to place Wazed on unpaid administrative leave in July 2025. The global health body had been conducting internal inquiries regarding alleged misappropriation of funds during an official trip to China, misrepresentation of a doctoral degree, and irregular land plot acquisitions in Bangladesh. Wazed, through her legal counsel, rejected these allegations, framing them as “administrative missteps.”
In her resignation letter addressed to the Director-General, Wazed claimed she had lost “all faith and confidence” in WHO leadership due to being continuously prevented from exercising her duties, adding that remaining on unpaid leave for over a year rendered her financial situation unsustainable. WHO sources indicated that formal removal proceedings were nearing completion prior to her resignation. Nominations for the vacant post are expected to be announced by October 12, with elections for the new Regional Director tentatively scheduled for January 24, 2027.
