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.
