Bangladesh’s Saima Wazed won the election to become South East Asia regional director at the World Health Organisation in New Delhi yesterday. She fought a high decibel battle against Nepal’s Shambu Prasad Acharya, who lost by six votes.
Saima Wazed is the daughter of Bangladesh Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and has extensively worked on autism, updating the country’s public health rules, as well as enacting the Mental Heath Act of 2018 and National Mental Health Strategic Plan for 2020-25.
The current regional director, India’s Poonam Khetrapal Singh, will hand over the charge to Wazed from February 1st next year. India was among the countries that had confirmed their support for the Bangladeshi candidate long before the elections.