World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has congratulated Saima Wazed for being elected as Regional Director of WHO South East Asia Regional Organization.

"My warm congratulations to Saima Wazed on her election as WHO SEARO Regional Director. You have earned the confidence and trust of the Member States in the region," he said.

The WHO DG said he is committed and looks forward to working closely with Saima Wazed for a healthier, safer, fairer South-East Asia.

Saima Wazed has been nominated, through an election, as the Regional Director (RD) of the South East Asia Regional Organization (SEARO) of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the term 2024-2028.

The election took place during the 76th session of the Regional Committee for SEARO, the annual governing body meeting of WHO at the regional level, in New Delhi on November 1.

The election was held by secret ballot with the participation of the 10 member states of the SEARO that were eligible to vote.

Saima Wazed bagged eight votes in the bid, while the other candidate, Dr Shambhu Prasad Acharya, nominated by the Government of Nepal, secured two votes.