UN secretary-general’s envoy on youth meets Saima Wazed

The UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake has met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s daughter Saima Wazed Hossain.

They have discussed youth development issues in general, and their mental health in particular.

Saima, better known by her nickname Putul, is Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh, and also Shuchona Foundation that works on mental health issues. She is a member of WHO’s Expert Advisory Panel on mental health.

She brought the neglected issue to the fore by organising a regional conference in 2011 where regional leaders, including India’s then ruling Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi participated.

As a result of her efforts, the Neurodevelopmental Disability Protection Trust Act 2013 has been passed. The United Nations adopted several resolutions based on her proposals.  She is an US-licensed school psychologist.

After the meeting, Wickramanayake received a tour of the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi Road 32 from Saima who is also the granddaughter of the father of the nation.

She is the trustee of the Awami League’s research wing CRI.

Senior Analyst of CRI Shah Ali Farhad, Research Officer of CRI Anika Ahmed and Nazish Arman of Shuchona Foundation were also present, among others, during the meeting.