Former interim government chief advisor Muhammad Yunus has cancelled his trip to Berlin at the last minute, withdrawing from the World Health Summit amid objections from several Europe-based organisations over his planned participation.
The summit's organisers said the Nobel laureate had pulled out for health reasons.
Yunus had been scheduled to address a session at the three-day summit, which began in the German capital on Sunday. His name was initially listed among the speakers on the event's website but was removed shortly before the conference.
This year's event, held under the theme "From Crisis to Resilience: Innovation for Health", brings together scientists, medical experts, government officials and representatives of international organisations to discuss challenges facing global healthcare systems.
The conference runs until Tuesday.
Zubaida Rahman, wife of Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and vice-president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, is also scheduled to take part in a session, according to the summit's website.
Asked about Yunus's absence, Anna Stormer, a representative of the World Health Summit's communications team, told bdnews24.com in an email that Yunus had cancelled his participation for health reasons.
bdnews24.com also contacted the Yunus Centre in Dhaka for comment but received no response.
The withdrawal comes three weeks after five Europe-based organisations called on the summit organisers to reconsider Yunus's invitation, raising concerns over Bangladesh's recent measles outbreak.
The South Asia Democratic Forum, European Bangladesh Forum, Working Group Bangladesh in Germany, Earth Civilization Network, and Freedom and Justice Alliance submitted a petition questioning his inclusion as a special speaker.
The petition said various reports had raised questions about the interim government's role in Bangladesh's recent measles outbreak.
It argued that these concerns required an independent review and that the decision to include Yunus as a special speaker at the summit should be reconsidered until such a review was conducted.