Saima Wazed, regional director of the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), has been placed on indefinite leave.

The leave came into effect on Friday, 11 July. Four months earlier, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed two cases against her over allegations of corruption, fraud, and abuse of power.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disclosed this in a brief email.

In the email, the WHO chief stated that Saima Wazed would be on leave and she would be replaced by assistant director-general Katharina Bem as the acting director. He also mentioned that Bem would assume her duties at the SEARO office in New Delhi, India on 15 July.

A senior official of a United Nations agency in Delhi told Prothom Alo that Saima Wazed Putul has been placed on a four-month-leave initially.

During the World Health Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland in May this year, several Bangladeshi officials informed the WHO director-general about the health ministry’s discomfort regarding Saima Wazed.