National
Govt Endorses Saima Wazed for WHO Regional Director
In a significant move, the government has put forth the name of Saima Wazed, granddaughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and a renowned expert in autism, as its nominee for the position of Regional Director for the South-East Asia Region (SEARO) at the World Health Organization (WHO).
The selection of the Regional Director will involve a voting process, with participation from the eleven WHO SEARO member states, which include Bangladesh, Bhutan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.
Notably, the Nepalese government has also nominated a candidate for the same post, intensifying the competition.
Saima Wazed’s impressive track record encompasses multiple achievements, such as drafting three international resolutions that found approval and adoption by member countries of both the United Nations and WHO.
Currently, she is on the verge of completing her doctoral studies in Organizational Leadership at Barry University in the United States. Since 2019, she has served as an advisor to the Director-General of WHO on Mental Health and Autism and has been a member of WHO’s expert advisory panel on Mental Health since 2014.
Her professional background includes being a licensed school psychologist, with more than three years of experience in the public school systems of Orange County and Duval County in Florida, USA.
In August 2023, Saima Wazed assumed the role of an associate fellow at the Global Health Program at Chatham House, where she has been actively involved since 2022 as a commissioner at the Commission for Universal Health.
She has also made substantial contributions in the field of climate vulnerability as the Thematic Ambassador for Vulnerability for the Climate Vulnerable Forum since 2020. Additionally, from 2017 to 2019, she held the position of WHO SEARO’s Goodwill Ambassador for Autism.
Within Bangladesh, she plays a pivotal role as the Chief Advisor for the National Mental Health Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and has chaired the National Advisory Committee on Autism and NDDs since 2012.
Saima Wazed’s academic and training commitments span across various institutions, including her role as Adjunct Faculty at Barry University in the USA, Visiting Faculty at Dhaka University, Visiting Specialist at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital, and Visiting Faculty at the National Institute of Mental Health in Dhaka.
Her influence extends globally, with invitations to speak at prestigious conferences and events around the world. These include engagements at the UN General Assembly in the USA, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda, the World Assembly of Women in Japan, COP26 and 27 in Scotland and Egypt respectively, UNESCO’s High-Level Roundtable in Sri Lanka, the Global Child Nutrition Forum in Cambodia, the World Economic Forum in India, the World Congress of Psychiatry in Portugal, and many others.
Recognizing her exceptional contributions, Saima Wazed has received several international awards, including the Excellence in Public Health citation by WHO SEARO, the Distinguished Alumni Award by Barry University in the USA, the International Champion Award by Shema Kolainu in the USA, and acknowledgment by Columbia University as an Innovative (Women) Leader in Global Mental Health.
Leaders of the quota reform movement have resolutely refused to negotiate with the government, insisting that their movement will persist until their demands are met.
In a Facebook post, Hasnat Abdullah, a coordinator of the movement, declared, “No discussion through stepping onto blood.”
Asif Mahmud, another prominent leader, echoed this sentiment, stating, “There can be no dialogue with bullets. I would prefer death over this betrayal.”
He further elaborated, “On one side, there are bullets. On the other, there is a call for dialogue. We can’t sit for dialogue while stepping onto the blood of our brothers.”
Earlier, leaders of the quota reform movement accused the government of escalating the law and order situation towards violence, asserting that their movement was peaceful until the government’s intervention.
Vowing to continue their struggle, Asif Mahmud stated, “We will continue our protests till we achieve our demands for reformation of the quota system, reopening of the halls and campuses, making university campuses terror-free, withdrawing political forces from the campuses, and punishing the killers and attackers.”
He added, “The people of the country have encircled those who tried to corner us. No conspiracy will be able to derail our movement.”
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged both local and international investors to invest in the extraction of marine resources from Bangladesh’s extensive sea areas.
“In order to fortify the blue economy through the diverse utilization of our marine resources, I call upon local and foreign investors to seize the opportunity to invest in Bangladesh. This will enable us to harness more of our marine resources,” she announced.
The Prime Minister made these remarks during the inauguration of the Bangladesh International Aquaculture and Seafood Show-2024 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in Dhaka.
She emphasized the importance of adhering to proper standards in the collection, distribution, and processing of fish to boost exports, aiming to make fish the country’s second-largest source of foreign currency.
Sheikh Hasina pointed out that her government has made limited progress in harvesting fish and other sea resources from the deep sea due to a lack of interest from local investors.
“Therefore, we need foreign investment to advance in this area. This is the reality we must face,” she noted.
She also suggested that both local and foreign investors can collaborate in joint ventures or invest separately in this sector to achieve better results.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate and moderately heavy rainfall or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, across all eight divisions of the country over the next 24 hours, starting from 9 am today.
In its weather bulletin issued this morning, the BMD stated, “Light to moderate rain or thundershowers with temporary gusty wind is expected in a few places over Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Additionally, one or two places in Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, and Barisal divisions may experience similar conditions, with moderately heavy falls anticipated at several locations in Rangpur, Mymensingh, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions.”
The bulletin also highlighted that the current mild heat wave sweeping across the Rangpur division and the districts of Tangail, Chuadanga, Rajshahi, Pabna, Bogra, and Netrokona may persist.
Daytime temperatures are expected to rise slightly, while nighttime temperatures are likely to remain nearly unchanged throughout the country.
On Wednesday, the highest recorded temperature was 36.7 degrees Celsius, observed in Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Rajarhat. The lowest temperature recorded today was 26.0 degrees Celsius, noted in Bandarban and Teknaf.
Over the last 24 hours, rainfall amounted to 16 mm in Bandarban.
For the capital, the sun will set at 6:48 pm today and rise at 5:21 am tomorrow.
