Election for WHO Regional Director post for Southeast Asia; row over Sheikh Hasina’s daughter being in the fray

New Delhi: The race to elect a new WHO regional director for South East Asia entered the final phase with two candidates—Saima Wazed, daughter of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Shambhu Prasad Acharaya from Nepal—speaking about their expertise and sharing their visions on Wednesday before 11 member countries that will vote to pick up one of them for the post.

At a virtual session, Saima and Acharaya gave presentations lasting 20 minutes each on their experience and expertise besides sharing their vision on what they hope to achieve as Regional Director of the WHO South East Asia region. They also responded to questions from member nations.

The election takes place amidst a major controversy with respect to Bangladesh fielding the Prime Minister’s daughter in the race, raising questions on transparency and nepotism.

Earlier this year over 60 health experts wrote to the WHO seeking greater transparency and oversight in the election though they didn’t name Saima in their letter.

While there are reports of Dhaka lobbying with New Delhi for its support for Saima, there is no official word from either of the two governments. Last month Saima was in Delhi with her mother for the G20 summit.

Elections to select WHO Regional Directors posts are not uncommon. But what made the contest in South Asia a keenly-watched one is the candidature from one of the most-influential political families of the sub-continent with allegations of back-channel lobbying flying thick.

“The Lancet (in a report published last month) highlights criticism over apparent nepotism in the nomination of candidates for election in the South-East Asia region — one candidate is the daughter of the nominating country’s Prime Minister. Such examples damage trust in the integrity of WHO’s leaders,” the 200-year old medical journal said last month in an editorial in the same issue that carried the report.

Months before the Lancet report and editorial, health specialists from all over the world wrote to the WHO Executive Board members and top leadership in the UN health body on the need for introducing transparency measures in the election of WHO regional directors.

The incumbent Regional Director for the SEARO Poonam Khetrapal Singh representing India was elected unopposed in her second term in 2018. But in 2013, there was a three cornered contest in which Singh defeated the candidates from Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Similarly in 2003 there were candidates from Thailand, Maldives, and Myanmar, but the winner Samlee Pilanbangchang was nominated unopposed for a second term.

Saima's highest academic qualification is masters in clinical psychology from Barry University in Florida, where she is pursuing her doctoral work. She had been drafted as a global autism advocate of the World Health Organization's 25-member Expert Advisory Panel on mental health for four years in 2014.

Acharaya, on the other hand, is an old WHO hand who is currently serving as a director at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.

The election will take place at the next session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia between Oct 30 to Nov 2 in New Delhi. Subsequently the WHO Executive Board will have to put its stamp of approval on the new Regional Director.