Vancouver – What do Aga Khan Institutions do?
These institutions running under the Aga Khan Development Network do a mind boggling amount of work across nearly 30 countries in every imaginable project that can benefit mankind.
Across countries in Africa and central and south Asia 200 schools and two universities are giving first class education to 2 million learners.
Central to its many education programmes and institutions is the Network’s overarching belief that pluralism, or the “embrace of difference”, is vital to how we interact with the world.
“The task is clear: To prepare the next generation of learners to be active and responsible citizens who look upon difference not as reason for suspicion nor cause for conflict, but rather, as a source of strength,” AKDN says.
“For over 30 years, the Aga Khan Development Network has worked in remote and fragile geographies to effectively reduce poverty, ensure tangible food security and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and their families.
“This approach to development has been adapted and replicated widely, and improved the quality of life of more than 8 million people living in poor, rural areas,” according to the AKDN.
Vast networks of smaller clinics and large teaching hospitals are providing first world healthcare in some unexpected locations.
In Nairobi there’s the Aga Khan University Teaching hospital where cancer treatment and cardiac care is now at par with some Canadian hospitals.
In Karachi the Aga Khan University expanded with a medical college and branched out into Africa and even Europe.
The new University of Central Asia is located in the Pamir mountain valleys in Khorugh, Tajikistan.
It’s the second campus of the UCA and was opened in September with a treaty signed between the Aga Khan and leaders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The Aga Khan is chancellor.
These health care facilities are non- profit and approximately 1 million patients are given subsidized medical care.
Other areas are habitat, micro-financing, industry, electric power projects, agricultural management, teaching farmers to grow better crops, bringing water to rural areas, emergency disaster management and assistance and even construction of toilets in India.
The gallery below provides some examples. Click on image to view gallery
