Bangladesh doctor to represent WHO in Maldives

Nazneen Anwar, a Bangladeshi health professional, has been appointed as the representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) to the Maldives.

She is the first Bangladeshi woman to be honoured with this post by the WHO.

She presented her letter of credence to the Foreign Minister of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid on April 18 this year.

Nazneen, a public health expert with more than 35 years of professional experience in the field of public, got the appointment on April 8, 2021.

She holds a Master’s degree in public health and a certificate in public health research by the Harvard University. She has hands-on experience in multiple fields, including mental health, health policy, planning, and capacity development, non-communicable diseases, nutrition, disability prevention, health research, and development.

Earlier, she has worked in different capacities for the WHO’s regional office for South-East Asia, WHO Country Office Bangladesh, and Ministry of Health, Government of Bangladesh.

Nazneen was born into an aristocratic Muslim family in Chattogram. She is the third among seven children of her parents. Her father— late Mahbub Alam Anwar — was the founding president of the Agrabad Chamber (now FICCI, Foreign Investment Chamber of Commerce and Industries).

She has two sons and one daughter. She was a student of St. Scholastica High School, Chittagong College, while her alma mater is Chittagong Medical College.