Saima Wazed Hossain, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has won an award of the World Health Organization for her contributions to the fight against neurodevelopment disorder and autism.

WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh

will hand over the “South-East Asia Region Award for Excellence in Public Health”, introduced this year, at a reception at 7:30pm tomorrow.

“We congratulate her on behalf of the health and family welfare ministry," Health Minister Mohammed Nasim told a press conference at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel.

He made the announcement while briefing reporters about the four-day South-East Asia Regional Conference of WHO, beginning at the hotel tomorrow.

Saima, nicknamed Putul, is a school psychologist in the

United Sates. WHO appointed her an expert adviser on mental health in June.

Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh, she has played a critical role in creating South Asian Autism Network (SAAN).

She also led campaigns for the passage of a resolution on autism in the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland this year.

Nasim said 11 health ministers of the South-East Asia region would attend the 32nd meeting to discuss ways of addressing vector-borne diseases and adopt the Dhaka declaration on the issue. This will be followed by the 67th session of the WHO South-East Asia Regional Committee, to review progress of the World Health Assembly resolutions.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director-general, and Dr Poonam will attend the meetings.

The regional committee's sessions will feature traditional medicines, health workforce education, universal health coverage, and civil registration.

Mohammed Nasim said Bangladesh would sign a memorandum of understanding with India on traditional medicines, and another with the Maldives on the latter's recruiting physicians and importing drugs from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will also sign MoUs with some other countries on Kala-azar, a fatal parasitic disease of internal organs, he said.