DHAKA BUREAU: Global autism expert Saima Wazed (Putul) has taken over as the regional director of the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHOSERO). He took charge for five years from Thursday (February 1).
In an inauguration speech, he thanked the Southeast Asian countries for their trust in him and highlighted some of his top priorities, including mental health, action for women and children, and the best use of technology for health.
Earlier on January 1, at the 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the South-East Asia Region, Member States voted to nominate Saima Wazed to the post.
Later, his nomination was approved at the 154th session of the WHO Executive Board held from January 22–27 in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Saima Wazed, outgoing Regional Director of the WHO Southeast Asia Region. Poonam replaced Kshetrapal Singh.
Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and East Timor participated in the polling in New Delhi. Prominent autism expert Saima Wazed received eight votes. Another candidate, Nepal-nominated Dr. Shambhu Prasad Acharya, got two votes. She is the first female Regional Director of Bangladesh and the second female Regional Director of the WHO South-East Asia Region.
Saima Wazed, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is a mental health expert, particularly renowned for her role in the field of autism. He is an adviser to the WHO Director-General on Mental Health. Saima Wazed was the first Bangladeshi to hold this post, created in 1948 as part of the regional division of the World Health Organization.
He has spearheaded autism awareness campaigns in Bangladesh at a time when parents hide the neurodevelopmental disorder from their children due to social stigma.
Saima Wazed graduated from Barry University, Florida, USA, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in clinical psychology.
Since 2019, he has been an advisor to the WHO Director-General on Mental Health and Autism and a member of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Mental Health.
Saima Wazed was previously named the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in Southeast Asia in 2017. He co-authored the WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy on Autism Spectrum Disorders in the same year. He is an Associate Fellow of the Global Health Programme at Chatham House, UK, Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and NDD in Bangladesh, and Chairperson of the Suchna Foundation. Saima Wazed received the ‘Excellence in Public Health’ Award from the WHO South-East Asia Regional Office in 2014 and the Ibrahim Memorial Gold Medal for her work on autism and neurodevelopmental disorders from the Dr. Ibrahim Memorial Council, Bangladesh, in 2016. In 2017, Saima Wazed received the International Champion Award from the US organization Shema Colainu for her work on autism in Southeast Asia. In 2019, she was awarded the Innovative Women Leaders in Global Mental Health Award by the Global Mental Health Program of Columbia University, USA.
