Prof Syed Modasser Ali, adviser to the prime minister on health and family welfare, is set to contest for the position of the Regional Director of World Health Organisation’s South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO), in an election on September 12 at India’s New Delhi.
Prof Modasser Ali, who is the first ever Bangladeshi contestant to run for the position, will face challenges from India’s Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, who is the WHO Deputy Regional Director for South-East Asia, and Myanmar’s Dr Myint Htwe.
The regional director will be elected by votes from the health ministers of the 11 member countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and East Timor.
Shafiqul Islam Laskar, additional secretary of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told the Dhaka Tribune on Sunday that candidates from India and Myanmar were contesting against Prof Modasser Ali.
He added that Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haq and Prof Modasser Ali left for New Delhi on Sunday night to attend the election, which takes place every four years.
