The WHO placed Ms. Wazed, who took office in early 2024 for a five-year term, on unpaid administrative leave late last year. She was first sent on leave in July 2025, in a move that followed Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission filing cases for fraud, forgery, and misuse of power against.
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.
What Saima Wazed said in her reisgnation letter
Ms. Wazed 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, osuted PM 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,” Ms. Wazed said in her resignation letter to Mr. Tedros sent late on Wednesday (September 10, 2026).“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.” She declined to comment further.