Saima Wazed takes oath as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia Region

Saima Wazed begins a five-year term on February 1, 2024.

New Delhi: Saima Wazed was on Tuesday confirmed as the Regional Director of World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region by the executive board in Geneva, Switzerland.

After taking oath as the new regional director, Wazed in her acceptance speech at the WHO Executive Board said, "I would like to thank the Member States for the trust they have placed in me. There is a lot of work to be done and I am extremely pleased to be starting this journey at this moment with all of you. I am excited for all that we can and will do together in the coming years."

Wazed begins a five-year term on February 1, 2024.

She is the first from Bangladesh and the second woman regional director of WHO South-East Asia Region.

She was nominated as the next regional director in a vote by the Regional Committee for South-East Asia on November 1, 2023, in New Delhi, India.

Emphasising on her priorities, the new regional director said, "The first of these is a strong focus on mental health -- a long-neglected area. It is time to turn the tide against the silent illness of mental health, which impacts every aspect of the lives affected. I will work towards ensuring relative parity between physical and mental health in our healthcare systems."

She further added, "Second, I look forward to devising and implementing specific interventions for women and children, including pregnant women. This will be created with education, empowerment, and prevention in mind. Structured with a life-course approach, this will include comprehensive well-being and health screenings, vaccination and nutrition programs, promotion of both physical and mental well-being, and resilience."

Wazed said any success we achieve in this area will have multi-generational impacts and benefits which will potentially outlive us all.

Successes in this area cascade through societies, even improving the social and economic health of communities, she added.

The new regional director said the third is the use of technology.

This great enabler in our lives over the last few decades allows untold possibilities of innovation across many different spheres of public health. The impact of the digital revolution on healthcare holds immense promise, ranging from telemedicine and remote patient monitoring to data-driven diagnostics and personalized treatment plans, she added.

Wazed emphasised on partnerships, collaboration and financing that is transparent, sustainable and provides adequate return on investment.

Her other priority areas include universal health coverage, emergency response and pandemic preparedness, collaboration and partnerships and climate change.