Sheikh Hasina Daughter Saima Wazed: Saima Wajid, daughter of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was appointed Regional Director of South East Asia in the World Health Organization (WHO). This was confirmed by the WHO Executive Board in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday (January 23).
According to WHO, after taking oath as the new regional director, Saima Wajid said in her speech, “I would like to thank the member countries for reposing their trust in me. There is still a lot of work to be done and I am thrilled to begin this journey with you all at this time. “I am excited for all the things we can and will do together in the years to come.”
Tenure will start from 1st February
Saima Wajid’s tenure will start from February 1, 2024. She is the first female regional director of Bangladesh and the second female regional director of WHO South-East Asia. Elections for this post were held in New Delhi on November 1, 2023 and he defeated Shambhu Prasad Acharya of Nepal by 6 votes.
Emphasis on three priorities
Emphasizing on his priorities, the Regional Director said, “Among these, mental health, the longest neglected area, is the main focus. Now is the time to fight the silent mental health illnesses that affect every aspect of life. I will work towards ensuring relative equity between physical and mental health in our health care systems.”
She further added, “Second, I am looking at designing and implementing specific interventions for women and children, including pregnant women. It will be made keeping in mind education, empowerment and prevention. “Any success we achieve in this area will have multi-generational impacts and benefits that will potentially impact us all.”
Saima Wajid told the third primary technology. He said, “The third is the use of technology. “This has created countless possibilities for innovation in many different areas of public health over the past few decades in our lives.”
Who is Saima Wajid?
Saima Wajid is the daughter of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He has done extensive work in the field of autism and mental illness, which has formed the basis of improvements in public health practices in Sri Lanka. On this basis, the Mental Health Act 2018 and the National Mental Health Strategic Plan for 2020-25 were implemented in Sri Lanka. He obtained a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Barry University, Florida, USA.
