Saima Wazed, the World Health Organization's Southeast Asia head and daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned on Wednesday, according to her resignation letter seen by Reuters, following fraud investigations by the UN agency and Bangladeshi authorities.
Saima’s case shows how the fallout from Hasina’s ouster following a deadly uprising against her around mid-2024 has spread to her family members, beyond her political allies. Many of Hasina's allies face criminal charges, including for alleged corruption in Bangladesh, or live in self-imposed exile like Hasina.
The WHO placed Saima, who took office as its Southeast Asia regional director in early 2024 for a five-year term, on unpaid administrative leave late last year. She was first sent on leave in July 2025 after Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission, under an interim government that replaced Hasina, filed charges against her in March that year alleging fraud and forgery.
The WHO accused Saima of "committing financial fraud in relation to her travel to China" and of misrepresenting her academic credentials, according to a separate letter from her lawyers to the WHO on July 3, 2026, seen by Reuters. Saima has denied the allegations.
The WHO also alleged she had illegally acquired a plot of land in Bangladesh, according to her resignation letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Saima said she acquired the land before she joined the WHO and was entitled to it under a Bangladeshi law that covered the families of the country's independence leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina's father.
"I was elected to the position of Regional Director in order to serve the countries in my region, which I had sincerely done," Saima said in her resignation letter to Tedros sent late on Wednesday.
"Since you continue to prevent me from effectively carrying out my duties, I have lost all trust and confidence in your leadership of WHO," she wrote. "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."
Saima declined to comment further.
The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, it said Saima was on leave but declined to comment further about her case to maintain confidentiality.
Two sources said earlier the UN agency was planning to formally remove Saima. One of them said the WHO would announce nominations for the role on October 12, vet applications in December and hold elections on January 24.
The sources declined to be named given the sensitivity of the matter.
Regional directors are among the world's most influential health policy officials, with their duties including responses to outbreaks and emergencies and adapting WHO policies to local conditions. They are elected every five years by member states, which include Bangladesh and India in the Southeast Asia region.
In the July letter, Saima, through her lawyers, denied any travel fraud, saying it was an administrative oversight by an assistant processing routine reimbursement requests and involved $901. On the credentials accusation, she said she holds an honorary doctorate for her work on autism in Bangladesh and had been clear with Tedros about this qualification.