AKF Annual Report - Aga Khan Development Network

AGA KHAN FOUNDATION
ANNUAL REPORT
2006
AN AGENCY OF THE AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

THE IMAMAT
AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
CULTURE
Aga Khan Fund for
Economic Development
Aga Khan Agency
for Microfinance
Aga Khan
Foundation
Aga Khan
University
University of
Central Asia
Aga Khan Trust
for Culture
Tourism Promotion
Services
Industrial Promotion
Services
Financial Services Media Services
Aviation Services
Aga Khan Education Services
Aga Khan Health Services
Aga Khan Planning and
Building Services
Aga Khan Award
for Architecture
Education and
Culture Programme
Aga Khan Historic
Cities Programme
Cover: The education component of the Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) focuses on Early Childhood
Development and the development of a relevant kindergarten system, including the establishment of satellite kindergartens that seek to
make education more accessible to children living in remote areas. Here, students in Kabylankol are learning arithmetic.

CONTENTS
2006
2 Foreword: Good Governance and the Enabling Environment
4 Overview: Aga Khan Development Network
6 Overview: Aga Khan Foundation
15 Country Reviews
44 Benefi ciary Close-ups
49 Financial Summary
50 Programme Partners
51 Current Projects
52 Facts at a Glance
53 Contacts

FOREWORD
GOOD GOVERNANCE AND THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
Good governance has recently come into the development spotlight, not least because poor
governance has been recognised as an important obstacle to development. In many countries,
development thinkers are focusing on putting enabling legal and fiscal frameworks in place, encouraging
grassroots participation and combating corruption. The objective is to make governments,
businesses and civil society organisations more effective and responsive to their stakeholders.
Increasingly, the private sector as a whole and civil society in particular are seen as keys to progress. An
effective and functioning state apparatus is essential for any developing country but, in AKDN’s experience,
complex development agendas cannot be left only to the state. In fact, the notion that development is
exclusively the domain of the state is disproved by the critical role played by the private sector in virtually
all developed countries. A nation’s growth – and some would argue its very survival – requires private
initiative (both for-profit business and non-profit civil society) to make full and effective use of the country’s
human potential, generate material resources, and develop a vibrant and robust socio-economic base.
As for-profit businesses are essential for creating jobs and providing goods and services, AKDN supports
the promotion of an enabling environment – laws and policies that allow, favour and mainstream a socially
responsible private sector. Such an environment stimulates local initiative and draws inward investment,
both of which can have rapid and dramatic effects on employment and human resource development.
In post-conflict countries, in particular, the creation of jobs is one of the greatest determinants of a
nation’s success or failure.
AKDN also supports the creation of enabling environments for civil society organisations – those
organisations which are powered by private energies but designed to advance the public good. Working
in fields such as education, health, science and research, they embrace professional, commercial, labour,
ethnic and arts associations, and others devoted to religion, communication and the environment.
Many fight poverty and social inequity. An enabling environment encourages such organisations
to shoulder a share of the burden of national development. It also persuades good managers,
doctors and teachers to stay and serve their country rather than to emigrate once they are skilled.
Since their creation, AKDN agencies, including the Foundation, have worked to foster an enabling
environment and good governance. In developing world contexts, therefore, the Foundation’s
assistance is contingent upon the creation of democratically elected community organisations, with the
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participation of women as an integral part of governance. The Foundation then helps these organisations
become effective and self-reliant by offering resources and training for essential administrative
skills such as record-keeping, accounting and other appropriate methods of good governance.
Standard setting also plays an important role. In recent years, AKDN’s microfinance banks in Afghanistan
and Pakistan (the latter for the second time) have received the top CGAP Financial Transparency Awards in
recognition of the highest standards of financial disclosure. When borrowers then migrate to these banks,
other banks are forced to emulate them. Likewise, when the Aga Khan University set up high quality diagnostic
centres in Pakistan, other medical testing labs were forced to raise their standards in order to retain clients. The
broad effect was a dramatic improvement in laboratory testing and, as a consequence, improved diagnoses.
The NGO Certification Programme of the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy addresses the issue of standards
in the NGO sector in a different way. The programme examines the structures, systems, track record and
practices of civil society organisations, and certifies them as being professional and competent in their work.
This certification stands them in good stead when they seek resources from Government, business or
external donors.
The issue of good governance is complex. It requires village-level democracy and a new
generation of ethical leaders. It requires the appropriate legal and fiscal frameworks and regulatory
conditions, and the political will to implement them. It needs exemplary institutions that set
standards and a system by which effective institutions enjoy economic premiums for accountability.
Clearly, there is a premium placed on good governance. Governments are now more likely to receive
external aid if their systems are effective and officials are not corrupt. Companies now earn a good
governance premium in stock market valuations that are as high as 25 percent, according to some
investors. Civil society organisations that are accountable and effective not only enjoy the support
of national and international donors, but they also enjoy the confidence of their constituencies.
That there is an economic premium for good governance is good news. In the struggle to alleviate
poverty, ethical intentions are of course essential. But economic incentives linked to good
governance and positive impact may well be the catalyst for sustained, effective development.
-The Aga Khan Foundation
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OVERVIEW
AGA KHAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK
The Aga Khan Foundation is part of the Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN). Founded and guided by His Highness the Aga Khan, the AKDN
brings together a number of international development agencies, institutions
and programmes that work primarily in the poorest parts of South and
Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East. All AKDN agencies conduct their
programmes without regard to faith, origin or gender.
The Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance works to expand access for the
poor to a wider range of financial services, including micro-insurance, small
housing loans, savings, education and health accounts. Its programmes
range from village lending cooperatives to self-standing microfinance banks
in South and Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Aga Khan Education Services aims to diminish obstacles to educational
access, quality and achievement. It operates more than 300 schools and
advanced educational programmes at the pre-school, primary, secondary
and higher secondary levels in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic,
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Tanzania and Uganda. It emphasises student-centred
teaching methods, field-based teacher training and school improvement.
Aga Khan Health Services provides primary and curative health care
in Afghanistan, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Tanzania in over 200
health centres, dispensaries, hospitals, diagnostic centres and community
health outlets. Annually, AKHS provides primary health care to 1.8 million
beneficiaries and handles 1.5 million patient visits. AKHS also works with
governments and other institutions to improve national health systems.
Gender is an integral and cross-cutting
concern in all areas of AKF’s work. The
Aga Khan Education Services focuses
on culturally relevant, student-centred
learning activities: Chess is a popular game
in Kyrgyzstan and helps develop children’s
logical thinking abilities. Focus Humanitarian
Assistance constructed a pump house in
post-conflict Afghanistan to supply 800
families with clean tap water.
Aga Khan Planning and Building Services assists communities with village
planning, natural hazard mitigation, environmental sanitation, water supply
systems and improved design and construction of both housing and
public buildings. It provides material and technical expertise, training and
construction management services to rural and urban areas.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture encompasses the triennial Aga Khan
Award for Architecture; the Historic Cities Programme, which undertakes
conservation and rehabilitation in ways that act as catalysts for development;
the Music Initiative, which preserves and promotes the traditional music of
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Central Asia; ArchNet.org, an online archive of materials on architecture
and related issues; the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture, which
is based at Harvard and MIT; and the Museums Project, which is creating
museums in Toronto and Cairo.
The Aga Khan University is a major centre for education, training and
research. Chartered as Pakistan’s first private international university in
1983, it has teaching sites in Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Syria, Tanzania,
Uganda and the United Kingdom. Following the establishment of the
Faculty of Health Sciences, the Institute for Educational Development and
the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, AKU is moving towards
becoming a comprehensive university with a Faculty of Arts and Sciences
in Karachi.
The University of Central Asia, chartered in 2000, is located on three
campuses: in Khorog, Tajikistan; Tekeli, Kazakhstan; and Naryn, Kyrgyz
Republic. UCA’s mission is to foster economic and social development in
the mountain regions of Central Asia. It will offer Master of Arts degrees
in mountain development; a Bachelor of Arts programme based on the
liberal arts and sciences; and non-degree continuing education courses.
The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development is the only for-profit
agency in the Network. Often acting in collaboration with local and
international partners, AKFED takes bold but calculated steps to invest in
fragile and complex settings. It mobilises investment for the construction,
rehabilitation or expansion of infrastructure; sets up sustainable financial
institutions; builds economically viable enterprises that provide essential
goods and services; and creates employment opportunities.
Focus Humanitarian Assistance, an AKDN affiliate, provides emergency
relief supplies and services to victims of conflict and natural disasters. It
also works with AKF to help people recover from these events and make
the transition to long-term development and self-reliance.
AKDN institutions work together with the world’s leading aid and
development agencies. (See “Programme Partners”, page 50, for a
detailed list.)
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture worked in
cooperation with the Ministry of Culture to
restore this mosque in Mali. The University
of Central Asia is the region’s first provider
of formal, university-based, non-degree
educational programmes. The Jubilee
Insurance Companies have become an
important insurance group in East Africa,
under the umbrella of AKFED, with offices in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
5

AKF AND THE AKDN
RU SSIA
CANAD A
UNITED
KINGDOM
FRANCE
SWITZERLAND
KAZAKHSTAN
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
UNITED STAT ES OF AMERICA
POR TUGAL
UZBEKISTAN
KYRGYZ REPUBLI C
TA JIKIS TA N
SYRI A
AFGHANISTAN
EGYPT
PAKISTAN
MALI
INDI A
BANGLADESH
SENEGAL
BU RKINA FA SO
IVOR Y CO AS T
UGAND A
DEMOCRATIC
REPUBLIC OF
CONGO
KENYA
TANZANI A
MOZAMBIQUE
AKDN Countries of Activity
MAD A GASCAR
AKF Countries of Activity
6

OVERVIEW
AGA KHAN FOUNDATION
2006
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and its sister AKDN agencies have been
experimenting with and implementing innovative solutions to development
for nearly 40 years.
In every undertaking, the overriding goal is to assist in the struggle against
hunger, disease, illiteracy, ignorance and social exclusion. Central to all these
efforts have been inclusive, community-based development approaches, in
which local organisations identify, prioritise and implement projects with the
Foundation’s assistance. Within this ethos, AKF focuses on five major areas:
education, rural development, health, civil society and the environment.
These themes are linked by several cross-cutting concerns including gender
issues, pluralism, human resource development and public awareness of
development issues.
AKF’s approach features a long-term commitment that is maintained through
political and social uncertainty. It has been the Foundation’s experience
that quick fixes rarely take root; rather, sustainable development requires
careful, culturally appropriate and disciplined application of best practices
over periods that may be longer than typical funding cycles. AKF therefore
strives to maintain long-term relationships with donor agencies and peer
organisations for the mobilisation of funds, human resources and expertise.
It also works to encourage indigenous philanthropy.
Once community organisations begin providing services to their members,
AKF expands the programme by establishing village organisations in other
districts. AKF then brings them into a federated structure and links them
7

to local governments through collaboration on development issues. It also
provides fund-raising advice and contacts to current and former recipients
of its grants through its civil society activities.
The Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan
Fund for the Environment is a new
centre for environmental activities,
formed by the merger of the
Bellerive Foundation and the AKF.
In its new form, the Fund’s activities
will highlight the linkages between
poverty and the penury of natural
resources. It will promote the management
and development of sustainable
natural resources through
education, area development and
related research that addresses
existing or emerging issues in the
developing world.
Through endowments and capital investments, AKF helps to ensure the
viability of these institutions. For example, it has aided community preschools
in Africa build endowments. AKF’s support extends to the creation
of civil society institutions, including pre-primary, primary, secondary, technical
and professional schools; maternity homes, hospitals, research centres; and
sports, recreation and cultural centres.
AKF both implements projects and makes grants. Most Foundation grants
are made to local field-based organisations. When an appropriate partner
for a programme does not exist, the Foundation will create one – such as
its rural development programmes – or manage the project directly. Over
the years, AKF has built a solid reputation for accountable management of
grants within a clearly defined thematic strategy and geographic focus.
His Highness the Aga Khan, who founded AKF in 1967, provides regular
funding for administration and programme initiatives as well as contributions
to its endowment. The Ismaili community contributes invaluable volunteer
time, professional services and substantial financial resources. Other funding
sources include more than 60 national and international development
agencies and many thousands of individual and corporate donors. In 2006,
with a budget of US$ 153 million, AKF funded projects in 18 countries.
The Foundation is committed to sharing lessons from its field experiences
through collaboration, public dissemination and policy dialogue. Models
that the Foundation has promoted have been adapted and replicated by
governments and international donors across a spectrum of environments
and economies.
The Foundation is based in Geneva, Switzerland, with branches and
affiliates in Central and South Asia, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa,
Europe and North America. In every country, the Foundation works for
the common good of all citizens, regardless of gender, origin, religion or
political association.
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ENVIRONMENT
In the experience of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the
challenge of improving environmental conditions lies not in an inherent
conflict between Man and Nature, but in the penury of natural resources
that often forces people to consume the few assets available to them. These
conditions often create a downward spiral that results in deeper poverty,
depleted soils, deforested hills, polluted water, disease, and, ultimately, despair.
The reasons for this cycle are complex and, in many instances, require
integrated, multidisciplinary solutions.
The Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan Fund for the Environment is a new centre for
environmental activities, formed by the merger of the Bellerive Foundation
and the Aga Khan Foundation. Although the Bellerive Foundation will
no longer exist in name, its expertise in wildlife management, education,
mountain environments, forest preservation and fuel-saving stoves will
continue to have an impact through the activities of the Prince Sadruddin
Aga Khan Fund.
In its new form, the Fund will concentrate on six main areas:
• Environmental Education: In selected areas where the AKDN is present,
the Fund will implement basic environmental education that explains
local environmental issues, risks and needs.
• Natural Resource Management in Fragile Zones: The Fund will work
to mitigate and even reverse environmental threats such as salinity,
deforestation and land erosion.
AKF established the Nangosoq Organic
Farming Village in an area that is ideal for
tourism, serves as a wildlife sanctuary and
offers spectacular views up the Shigar
Valley in northern Pakistan.
• Nature Parks and Wildlife Reserves: Where opportunities exist in
locations where the AKDN is active, the Fund will engage in supporting
– directly or indirectly, and on a carefully selected basis – the sustainability
of wildlife reserves, ecological areas and city and national parks.
• Environmentally and Culturally Appropriate Tourism Infrastructure: As
a way of raising incomes in poor areas, the Fund will encourage the
development of special forms of tourism that highlight environmental
and cultural assets while providing local people with alternatives to the
consumption or destruction of these assets.
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• Environmental Health: The Fund will work in target communities to
introduce water supply, sanitation systems and other appropriate
techniques that reduce disease and improve human welfare.
• Research: The Fund will collaborate with a select group of scientific
institutions and universities on field-based research that addresses
opportunities and problems of the environment and human habitat in
the developing world.
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Firmly committed to reducing rural poverty, particularly in resourcepoor,
degraded or remote environments, the Foundation concentrates
its efforts on a small number of programmes scaled to meet the needs
of the communities in which it works. High mountain, coastal and arid
areas are a particular focus.
These women pound rice grains with a
mortar and pestle to produce rice flour.
AKRSP supports sustainable production
of rice in Madagascar, a country with one
of the world’s highest levels of per capita
rice consumption.
A central strategy is to create or strengthen institutional structures at
the village level through which people can prioritise needs and decide
how best to manage common resources. These village organisations,
whether broad-based or interest-specific, represent the community to
government and other development partners, including civil society
organisations and the private sector. Training programmes support
these institutions by providing management expertise, technical support
and other resources needed to plan, implement and maintain local
development activities.
Communities build personal and community capital through their
management and regeneration of natural resources such as water
storage, irrigation systems, soil conservation or forestry. These efforts
include the construction of small-scale infrastructure, such as rural
roads, bridges, canals, micro-hydels or agricultural storage facilities.
Income growth is promoted by increasing agricultural productivity
through new farming methods, provision of better seed, creation and
improvement of markets, land development, micro-credit, increasing offfarm
incomes and supporting enterprise development.
10

EDUCATION
The Foundation’s overall aims in education are to improve the quality of
basic education by ensuring better early care and learning environments
for young children; increase access to education; keep children in school
longer; and raise levels of academic achievement. Girls, the very poor and
geographically remote populations receive special attention. AKF both
implements its own education initiatives and funds others through grants
to governments and civil society organisations.
Current grants focus on: the location, timing and content of teacher
training; professional development for educators and caregivers; the role
of governments, civil society organisations, communities and parents in
financing and managing education; and the cultural and economic relevance
of the curriculum.
The Early Childhood Development portfolio includes various communitybased
approaches that enhance early childcare and education opportunities.
AKF has worked closely with communities to create culturally appropriate
curricula that take into account relevant early childhood education and care
practices. To ensure more holistic and early interventions, AKF coordinates
its efforts with the Foundation’s health initiatives.
In contexts where many teachers have no more than primary-level education
themselves and materials and training are in short supply, the Foundation
provides training in centres managed by local NGOs or governments. These
centres provide courses on the creation of student-centred teaching and
learning environments and offer in-classroom support and follow-up to
teachers from affiliated schools.
In Tajikistan, the AKF Education
Programme collaborates with the
Ministry of Education to reinvigorate the
education system, which was considerably
weakened by the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the civil war. New teaching
methodologies engage children actively in
the learning process.
These efforts are complemented by overall school improvement
programmes at the district and provincial levels. The Foundation also
provides mechanisms, such as mini-endowments and matching grants, which
allow parents and communities a wider role in managing and co-financing
their children’s education. This is a particularly important development in
countries where governments are not able to provide even the primary
cycle of schooling.
11

HEALTH
The Foundation plays a key role in developing ways to enable poor
communities, both rural and urban, to acquire the knowledge and skills
needed to protect and promote good health. It has been a pioneer
of community health efforts in India and Pakistan, has assisted health
sector reform in Tajikistan, helped rebuild the health infrastructure in
Afghanistan and Mozambique, and funded primary health-care facilities
in East Africa.
In all its undertakings, the Foundation promotes equitable health policies
and financing mechanisms that contribute to sustaining service delivery
and the provision of basic services. A particular focus is improving the
health status of vulnerable groups – especially women of childbearing
age and children under five – who live in geographically remote areas.
AKF health and education initiatives are
often coordinated to produce a more
sustainable effect on community health.
Women in Kyrgyzstan are in a dispensary
educating themselves by reading
various brochures.
AKF works to strengthen health-care systems by building the skills
of government and primary level health-care professionals. It also
contributes to health sector reform; the improvement of environmental
and household health through the provision of water, sanitation and
hygiene promotion and awareness-raising activities; the enhancement
of maternal and child health; the improvement of nutritional status; and
programmes to combat infectious diseases.
CIVIL SOCIETY
AKF’s broad definition of civil society extends beyond that of foreignfunded
NGOs. Through research, training, advice and funding, AKF
supports a variety of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that address
the common challenges of poor communities. The characteristics of
these organisations are developmental rather than purely charitable;
participatory; non-discriminatory; dedicated to orderly positive change;
and ready to support pluralism. Their activities have a positive impact
and clear public benefit.
To increase the impact and efficiency of these organisations, the
Foundation works to create what the Aga Khan has called an “enabling
12

environment” of laws and policies that govern relations between the
state and civil society. In many countries, including Tanzania, Kenya and
Pakistan, AKF has helped governments and CSOs develop a responsive
legal and fiscal framework that addresses outstanding issues such as the
legal status of civil society organisations and tax incentives to encourage
indigenous philanthropy. In Pakistan, AKF has helped create the Pakistan
Centre for Philanthropy, a unique organisation dedicated to this task.
Many of AKF’s partners ask for advice, training and related institutionstrengthening
services. The Foundation has assisted these partners by
establishing resource centres that provide the required services. For
example, the Foundation has helped to create a range of learning
tools in development management and resource mobilisation that are
suitable for CSOs. It has also set up a Young Development Professionals
programme in East Africa comprising in-service training, mentoring and
course work.
For more information, please see:
www.akdn.org/civilsociety or www.akdn.org/akf
Along the coast of Cabo Delgado,
Mozambique, the production of
seaweed is an important source of
income. AKF’s Coastal Rural Support
Programme CRSP(M) supports the
formation of producers’ groups in seaweed-farming
villages to help increase
production and promote better farming
technologies. Other groups are
formed around other development
issues, including health, education,
environment and the strengthening of
civil society.
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COUNTRY REVIEW
ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
AFGHANISTAN
EGYPT
INDIA
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
PAKISTAN
SYRIA
TAJIKISTAN
AFGHANISTAN
AKDN organisations have been working in Afghanistan since 1995,
implementing a multi-sectoral rural development programme
incorporating interventions in health, education, natural resource
management and enterprise development.
Revitalising the local economy requires substantial investment in human
capital, as well as financial resources to support small rural enterprises.
In rural northern and central areas, AKF is working to build human
capital through its vocational training programme, covering areas such
as English, communications technology and car mechanics. There are
also interventions in adult literacy and numeracy aimed at strengthening
the skills of local communities as they plan and implement their own
development priorities.
Under its enterprise programme, AKF supports small enterprises
through business development service providers who give advice
to entrepreneurs in a range of sectors, including honey bee-keeping,
poultry, carpet weaving and cashmere processing.
SYRIA
Village Organisations and special interest
groups – including groups for agriculture,
livestock, poultry, gender, health, education
and infrastructure – are formed with the
support of AKF, to help member families
establish savings funds and increase
income-generating activities.
The Afghanistan Rural Micro-credit Programme has now provided loans
to thousands of borrowers in rural areas, and has helped to create
22,000 new jobs.
SPOTLIGHT: Access To Quality Education
AKF’s Rural Education Support Programme works to improve the
quality of education in schools and increase access to primary education
15

for remote communities. Since 2003, 132 government schools have
received assistance; over 63,000 students and 2,000 teachers have
benefited. In addition, a new community-based education programme
has been initiated to improve access to primary education for very
remote communities, thus reducing the distances to schools for children
in rural areas.
AKF improves school enrolment, retention rates and achievement
levels largely through in-service teacher training. Full accreditation has
been made possible for 269 teachers. In addition, 185 adult literacy
groups, including groups focused on women, have been established and
are proving to be highly successful with communities. Participants are
able to apply the skills they develop in their literacy groups directly
in their everyday lives – in income-generating activities, in community
development projects and in supporting their children in their studies.
The Foundation provides school-based in-service teacher education,
and supports pre-service development through the Teacher Training
Colleges in Baghlan and Badakhshan provinces. These initiatives are being
developed in line with the Ministry’s Teacher Education Programme,
which is designed to assist teachers in improving their skills or expanding
knowledge of their subject.
The Rural Education Support Programme
(RESP) has been committed to providing
required infrastructure at the Teacher
Training College in Sheghnan, Badakshan.
There is also a continuous effort to
strengthen the pool of women teachers
and trainers, in an effort to increase retention
of girls in the upper primary classes.
AKF’s partners in the country include the Afghanistan Government,
American Red Cross, Asian Development Bank, Canadian International
Development Agency, Dutch Embassy, European Commission, European
Commission Humanitarian Office, Food and Agriculture Organization,
Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, International Center for
Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas, International Organization for
Migration, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japanese Embassy,
Netherlands Organisation for International Development Co-operation,
New Zealand Aid, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education, Swiss Agency for Development
and Co-operation, The Office of the Representative of Denmark to
Afghanistan, UK Department for International Development, UN Office
on Drugs and Crime, US Agency for International Development, US
Department of Agriculture and the US State Department.
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EGYPT
In 2006, AKF began working with the Om Habibeh Foundation (OHF),
an Egyptian, not-for-profit affiliate of the Aga Khan Development
Network that is implementing a long-term development programme
in the Aswan Governorate. OHF focuses on early childhood education,
improved nursing education and services, and the strengthening of
civil society organisations.
During 2006, education activities included working with nine kindergartens
and daycare centres; piloting summer camps for children as a way to
increase interest in early childhood development and encourage
enrolment; training 25 teachers and governorate-level supervisors on
effective teaching principles and methods; and conducting meetings
where mothers were encouraged to establish links with kindergarten/
daycare teachers.
SPOTLIGHT:
Nursing Education and Services
A six-year nursing programme in Aswan has been operating since July
2005. It operates in all five districts of the Aswan Governorate and
collaborates with public nursing colleges and government-run hospitals,
primary health centres and maternal and child-care centres.
The nursing programme aims to improve the status and image of the
nursing profession; strengthen the quality of nursing education at the
diploma and higher education levels; and upgrade the level of nursing
services and patient care available in hospitals.
Intensive training in nursing practices, English and computers, as well as
leadership skills development, has been provided to 90 nurses, nursing
teachers and nursing leaders, of which 30 have been sent to the
Aga Khan University School of Nursing in Karachi for further training.
With support from the World Health Organization, a model nursing
skills laboratory has also been established as a learning resource centre.
The Canadian International Development Agency is a significant
supporter of the AKDN programmes in Egypt.
The nursing programme provides continuous
education opportunities to nurses,
nursing teachers and leaders from district
hospitals. In-service teacher training in
kindergartens and daycare centres has
served more than 500 children aged three
to six.
17

INDIA
AKF has supported rural development programmes in India since the
early 1980s. During 2006, in Jammu and Kashmir, over 25 masons
were trained in earthquake-resistant construction techniques, and six
were contracted to provide regular technical guidance in programme
villages. The Foundation engages local communities in the management
and delivery of health care through the “social franchise agreement”.
SPOTLIGHT:
Small Farmers in South Gujarat
Community federations help to create
new institutions, strengthen existing ones,
facilitate agricultural credit and establish
linkages with Government. To date, 2,300
community institutions have been created,
including 20 apex federations.
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) has worked for over
20 years with small and marginal farmers and other communities in
remote regions of Western India, supporting a variety of interventions
to enhance and sustain rural livelihoods.
In South Gujarat, the lack of access to agricultural tools and equipment
emerged as the major constraint to improving the productivity of farming
land. Each agricultural season, small and marginal farmers were often left
with no recourse but to hire tractors or bullocks at exorbitant market
rates to till their lands and harvest and process agricultural produce.
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In 2006, AKRSP helped establish a “library” of agricultural tools and
equipment from which local farmers could rent equipment at nominal
seasonal rates.
The tools library is managed by three federations of community
institutions, one of which is a federation of womens’ groups. AKRSP has
supported the purchase of a variety of agricultural equipment including
a tractor and trolley, ploughs, threshers, water lifting devices, irrigation
pipes and a soil testing kit.
The income of US$10,000 earned by the federations is used to insure
the library equipment and cover regular repair and maintenance costs.
These tools have benefited 900 farmers.
Funding partners which support the programmes in India include
the British High Commission, Canadian High Commission, Canadian
International Development Agency, European Commission, European
Commission Humanitarian Office and the United States Agency for
International Development.
The tools library has benefited 900 farmers.
For shared infrastructure, such as
cattle troughs, the community contributes
up to 30 percent of the value.
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KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
AKF projects in the Kyrgyz Republic operate through the Mountain
Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP), which has
promoted economic growth and socio-economic development in the
Alai and Chon Alai districts of the Osh Oblast since 2004.
In 2006, MSDSP established 19 Village Organisations in 10 new target
villages, created 36 goat and 15 poultry lending scheme groups, and
trained 180 farmers in potato planting techniques.
MSDSP has also helped to increase rural village incomes through the
production of traditional handicrafts. In 2006, it won the UNESCO seal
of excellence for its women’s handicraft groups.
MSDSP has assisted rural households
to increase their incomes
by making traditional handicrafts.
Village organisations, in partnership with local government and other
international agencies, contributed to the establishment of over 20
infrastructure projects including irrigation canals, link roads, public baths,
kindergartens and primary schools.
MSDSP has helped to renovate and construct central and satellite
kindergartens, with the aim of making education more accessible to
20

children living in remote areas. Central kindergartens operate on a
“half-day shift”, with a morning and afternoon session, so as to reach
more children. This also creates a schedule that is more appropriate for
young children.
In 2006, AKF/MSDSP and the Ministry of Education, Science and
Youth signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Early Childhood
Development. Materials were developed and workshops conducted
– with the Aga Khan School and Osh Institute of Upgrading Teachers
– on active teaching-learning methodologies for grade one teachers.
SPOTLIGHT:
Community Health
In 2004, when the MSDSP’s Community Health Programme Unit was
started, the health system of the Kyrgyz Republic was poorly financed,
clinical practices were outdated and medical facilities had minimal
supplies and equipment. Moreover, the Soviet tradition of treating illness
rather than promoting health persisted.
As part of the reform of the health sector, MSDSP began initiating health
promotion and disease prevention interventions in the remote villages
of Osh Oblast.
During 2006, this programme trained over 200 village volunteers to
serve as Community Health Promoters and formed 45 Village Health
Committees to raise awareness on issues related to malnutrition,
vitamin deficiency, communicable diseases, safe water and sanitation,
as well as maternal health. These volunteers and committees work
with government health professionals to promote and provide primary
health care.
The first harvest of MSDSP’s Kitchen
Garden project has produced tomatoes
and carrots, among other vegetables,
which will help address vitamin deficiencies
in communities at high altitude.
In 2006, AKF supported 60 MSDSP Kitchen Gardens that provided
vegetables to more than 320 beneficiaries. These harvests are expected
to produce vegetables rich in vitamins to help address the nutritional
deficiencies that are common among communities living in remote, high
altitude regions.
21

PAKISTAN
In Chitral and the Northern Areas of Pakistan, the Aga Khan Rural
Support Programme (AKRSP) has focused on expanding social and
economic opportunities for the poor since 1983.
In 2006, the Programme formed 13 new Local Support Organisations,
which represent 278 village organisations and 117 women’s organisations.
Four early childhood development centres and 382 adult literacy
centres were established. Moreover, 30 infrastructure projects, including
11 micro-hydel units (low-cost alternatives to dams for generation
of electricity) were rehabilitated. Approximately 2,000 farmers have
benefited from these interventions.
The Foundation continues to address issues concerning education at
various levels. In 2006, 6,000 teachers and education administrators
were trained. Community-based primary schools and coaching centres
for women were established to provide education in regions with no
post-primary school facilities.
Community members work together
through their democratically elected
Village Organisations, which for over 30
years have remained the centre of all
AKDN efforts.
The Releasing Confidence and Creativity programme (RCC) – designed
to improve the quality of learning opportunities during the early years
– produced a booklet called “A Touch of Magic”, which is a series of
interviews with children, parents, teachers, communities, government
officials, RCC teams and consultants on the RCC experience from 2002
to 2006.
In health, with the support of local communities, AKF operates 22
maternal and child-care centres, seven family health centres and four
secondary care facilities; and supports 269 community health workers
and 300 traditional birth attendants. The programme provides basic
care to a population of over 300,000. Other activities include support
for the National Tuberculosis Control Programme of the Ministry of
Health through 24 diagnostic and 48 treatment centres.
SPOTLIGHT:
Civil Society Organisations
AKF’s civil society strengthening programme in Pakistan is one of the
Foundation’s largest. The two flagships are the NGO Resource Centre
22

in Karachi and the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy in Islamabad. Both
centres operate on the premise that a strong civil society sector in
Pakistan offers useful services. It also creates opportunities for
partnering with business and Government to work towards a better
quality of life.
The latest work in Karachi has been the USAID-funded Institutional
Management and Certification Programme (IMCP), through which
Pakistani medium- and large-sized civil society organisations (CSOs)
were provided with high-level training that pre-certified them for
funding from USAID. Publications on CSO Management were produced
(Managing Risk, Financial Management, Human Resource Management,
Information Technology, Information and Communication, Monitoring
and Evaluation, and Governance), as was “Reflections”, a compendium
of case studies of organisations that have been through the ICMP
process. In 2006, more than 100 organisations sent 200 participants to
15 courses.
In Islamabad, a certification programme has now reached more than
120 organisations, a majority of which are showcased in a publication.
Certification of CSOs was envisaged as a means to improve governance
outside the realm of Government. It attests to the high standard and
level of operations and management that the CSOs have reached,
thereby Pakistani philanthropists – business, personal and institutional
– can feel comfortable donating their funds to such organisations.
Previous research had shown that one of the strong limiting factors
behind indigenous Pakistani philanthropy was a lack of trust in how the
CSOs would execute the funds.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canadian International
Development Agency, Citigroup Foundation, Dutch Embassy, European
Commission, Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Johnson
& Johnson, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Pfizer,
South Asian Earthquake Relief Fund, UN Development Programme and
the US Agency for International Development are some of the many
partners supporting the programmes in Pakistan.
Women play an integral role in community
governance and development. A skilled
mason helps construct new communitybased
schools, with assistance from the
Aga Khan Education Service.
23

SYRIA
AKDN programmes have been operating in Syria since 2003. In
Salamieh, AKF focuses on rural enterprise development, early
childhood development, community health and the strengthening of
community-based organisations.
During 2006, the Foundation supported 65 households to scale up a
viable mushroom production, increasing the annual income of these
community entrepreneurs by more than 10 percent, roughly SYP 10,500
(US$ 210) per family. AKF helps market the mushrooms to major cities,
and the product has started becoming well known throughout the
country.
AKF also expanded the early childhood development summer clubs
with local communities in Salamieh and Tartous, and supported the
Focus Humanitarian Assistance intervention for Lebanese refugees.
The Foundation extended activities this year to Masyaf. Programme
staff partnered with the Ministry of Health to identify villages to pilot
early childhood development, health and community development
interventions based on experiences from Salamieh.
SPOTLIGHT:
Community Organisations and Ties
To assist villagers with limited sources of
income, AKF introduced a product that
had not been cultivated before in Salamieh,
but requires little land, limited water, and
is also very profitable: mushrooms.
In Syria, AKF is involved in a number of projects working closely with
village development committees and other community-based institutions.
The goal of these projects is to strengthen civil society institutions by
helping citizens play a greater role in their own development, recognise
the advantages of collaboration, encourage self-reliance and ultimately
improve the quality of life.
In keeping with this goal, AKF has established several effective farmers’
associations related to mushroom and olive oil production. The aim
is to enhance agro-economic practices at the farm level; increase
opportunities for value-added processing – resulting in job creation and
entrepreneurial possibilities; improve marketing of the final product; and
reinforce the importance of farmers working together to achieve greater
agricultural productivity.
24

AKF has also helped form specialised community groups such as water
users’ associations, providing them access to group loans to improve the
management of commonly held water resources. In the first year, 17
farmers with a total of five hectares of summer crops joined efforts to
create the initial group. In 2006, more than 13 groups involving more
than 150 farmers and 200 households in 24 villages worked together to
improve the management of rapidly diminishing water resources.
In 2006, AKF helped establish a business women’s group dedicated to the
production and marketing of traditional handicrafts from Salamieh. The
objective of this intervention was to provide skills and entrepreneurship
training to 45 women to promote cooperative economic activity and
enhance household incomes. The group was able to market and sell
its products through local exhibitions and by invitation to two national
trade fairs held in Damascus.
With the support of AKF’s Community
Health Programme, volunteers in
Salamieh District are being trained in
how to make mothers aware of the benefits
of breastfeeding.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is an important supporter
of AKDN programmes in Syria.
Volunteers are key to the early childhood
development programme. Training
workshops prepare them to assist at
regional summer camps for children.
25

TAJIKISTAN
The Aga Khan Foundation has been operating in the mountain societies of
Tajikistan for over 10 years. In 2006, the Mountain Societies Development
Support Programme (MSDSP) initiated a process to determine how it
could best assist civil society organisations, local government and the
private sector to stimulate economic growth.
InTajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO), the education
programme implemented the first phase of the School Improvement
Programme in over 100 schools. During the year, more than 390 teachers
at primary and secondary level were trained in all subjects of the national
curriculum, including interactive teaching methodologies and critical thinking.
In addition, over 20 learning resource centres were established to help
teachers strengthen their lesson plans, while existing centres were further
supported with teaching resources.
AKF focuses on the health of children and
women of childbearing age: A nurse from
a nearby primary care centre pays a visit
to a boy who has hurt his arm; a voluntary
community health promoter teaches
women how to make nutritious baby food
from locally produced ingredients.
In the area of health, the Foundation partnered with the Government of
Tajikistan to conduct 45 seminars for staff of 195 primary health care facilities
in GBAO, covering topics such as integrated management of childhood
illness, sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS, immunisation and safe
motherhood. Also, 300 safe motherhood protocol books were printed and
distributed to staff and medical colleges.
SPOTLIGHT: Sustaining Livelihoods in Khatlon and Rasht Valley
During the MSDSP’s initial phase, the Foundation served as a direct
service provider. Development efforts were focused on land privatisation,
development of sustainable farm and off-farm livelihoods, and construction
and rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure. All efforts were
channeled through community-based village organisations. The rationale
behind this approach was to build the capacity of community members to
analyse village resources, plan together, implement activities and continue
new cycles of development.
Since 1997, in the Khatlon and Rasht Valley regions, more than 620 villages
covering 79,500 people have created village organisations. To build on this
momentum, in 2006, AKF began to create federations at the sub-district
level which now partner with local government in development activities.
26

During these 10 years, the Foundation has made significant inroads into
poverty reduction. In the Rasht Valley, the average per capita income increased
by 25 percent between 2001 and 2004. Access to essential economic and
social services has also improved. In the Rasht Valley, for example, access to
clean drinking water increased from 54 percent in 2001 to 78 percent in
2004 in communities with village organisations.
Now, in its second phase of operations, AKF is moving away from the role of
direct service provider and concentrating more on indirect service delivery.
The role and capacity of Government, the private sector and civil society will
be enhanced so that each can contribute more effectively to improving the
quality of life.
Funding partners for activities in Tajikistan include: the Canadian International
Development Agency, Christenson Fund, Christian Aid, European Commission,
European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, German Embassy, Gesellschaft
für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Netherlands Organisation for International
Development Co-operation, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries,
Swedish International Development Agency, Swiss Agency for Development
and Co-operation, Tajikistan Government, UK Department for International
Development, US Agency for International Development, US Department of
Agriculture and the World Bank.
Clean drinking water is often a priority
for community-based village
organisations. In the Rasht Valley,
access to clean drinking water increased
by 24 percent from 2001 to 2004 in
communities with village organisations.
27

COUNTRY REVIEW
EASTERN AFRICA
KENYA
TANZANIA
UGANDA
MADAGASCAR
MOZAMBIQUE
KENYA, TANZANIA AND UGANDA
For over 30 years, AKF has worked in East Africa to find solutions
to critical development challenges, by enhancing the quality of
public education, improving people’s health status, ameliorating the
livelihoods of poor rural communities and enhancing the skills of local
civil society organisations.
In 2006, AKF both broadened and deepened its work in East Africa,
including the addressing of educational challenges in the nomadic
communities of North East Kenya and developing a new integrated
livelihoods programme in southern Tanzania.
SPOTLIGHT:
The Health Information Revolution in Kenya
UGANDA
Children play at an early childhood development
centre led by their teachers. The
building and recreation area were both
constructed by the community, with the
support of AKF, which has also trained the
teachers and introduced a holistic early
childhood curriculum.
The lack of effective information management in Africa has long hindered
decision-making, contributed to the ineffective use of limited resources
and resulted in services which are not tailored to meet the most
pressing needs of the people. In 2000, AKF initiated the development
of a computerised Health Management Information System (HMIS)
in Kwale District of Coast Province. It aimed not only to develop a
simple system which could provide accurate and timely information on
health needs, but also to provide an enabling environment for effective
implementation of the system, to promote accountability and learning,
and to build a replicable model which could be rolled out nationally.
Evaluations demonstrated that the new information system resulted
in improved health indicators through effective targeting of health
29

programmes and funding, more accurate disease surveillance and an
increased ability of the health system to respond to problems. Additionally,
the continuous feedback process encouraged health facilities to strive
for excellence.
The success of this model has attracted the interest of development
partners and the Government. By mid-2007, all of Coast, North Eastern
and Nyanza provinces will be equipped with the system. By mid-2008, the
system will be rolled-out nationally, covering 7,000 dispensaries in Kenya.
To date, 1,700 health facility personnel
have been trained on the use of the Health
Management Information System, which
has been extended to 23 districts covering
30 percent of Kenya’s population.
A MKEZA girls’ science camp was attended
by 140 students, 28 teachers and 12
science advisors to strengthen performance
in physics, chemistry and math.
SPOTLIGHT: Quality Education in Zanzibar
In 2004, AKF developed a holistic education project in Zanzibar with the
aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning in the public education
system. Known as MKEZA (an acronym for the Swahili name Mradi wa
Kuendeleza Elimu Zanzibar) the project focused on improving instruction
and learning in secondary schools, raising the quality of learning in primary
and pre-primary schools, and increasing access for girls and children with
disabilities to quality education.
To achieve its objectives, MKEZA has worked primarily with teachers to
build their ability to provide quality, inclusive education. MKEZA has trained
over 8,000 teachers and over 4,000 school management committee
members. Over 100,000 students have benefited from the programme.
MKEZA has also supported communities in school management, promoted
the participation of local civil society organisations in the education system,
focused on special learning opportunities for girls and children with
disabilities, and equipped classrooms with books and other materials. In
2007, the programme will expand to southern Tanzania.
SPOTLIGHT:
Early Childhood Development Programmes
in Uganda
In 2003, representatives from the remote, poor district of Arua in the
West Nile region of Uganda requested support from the Aga Khan
Foundation’s Madrasa Programme in East Africa. The district officials
wanted to ensure that their children had access to high quality early
30

childhood development programmes that provided an integrated,
culturally relevant curriculum.
The Madrasa Resource Centre, building on over 10 years of experience
in Uganda, responded by designing a programme aimed at improving
the quality of education for young children across the district. In order
to ensure sustainability, the programme focused on building the capacity
of government teams to train pre-primary teachers in innovative early
childhood development methodologies. It also facilitated training
workshops for pre-primary and lower primary teachers, supported
the establishment of an early childhood resource centre in the district
headquarters, upgraded the learning environments in over 30 schools and
worked with the Primary Teachers’ College in Arua district to improve its
ability to incorporate participatory approaches in its training.
The Madrasa Resource Centre in Kampala
designs curricula, provides materials and
trains young women selected by participating
communities to be teachers.
Partners which support AKF programmes in East Africa include the Canadian
International Development Agency, Comic Relief (UK), Danish International
Development Agency, European Commission, Ford Foundation, Johnson
& Johnson, Rockefeller Foundation, UK Department for International
Development and the US Agency for International Development.
31

MADAGASCAR
Since 2005, AKF has been working in Madagascar with the aim of
reducing poverty by improving rice productivity.
Madagascar has one of the world’s highest levels of per capita rice
consumption. Rice provides over 50 percent of calories consumed in
the country and the poor rely heavily on it. Rice production is the
single most important economic activity, involving 80 percent of all rural
households and contributing 12 percent to the national economy.
The “sarcleuse” is a low-cost but efficient
tool for rice cultivation. When groups of
farmers are assigned APRA-GIR test plots,
their starter toolkits include, among other
things, new seeds and a sarcleuse.
However, while rice farming represents over 40 percent of agricultural
production, 10 percent of consumption is actually imported. In Madagascar,
where 80 percent of the poor live in rural areas, most rice farmers live
below the subsistence level and purchase rice at international market
price to supplement their needs.
In 2006, experimental plots in the Sofia region which benefited from
alternative farming methods proposed by AKF more than doubled their
average yield in tons per hectare.
32

SPOTLIGHT:
Participative Rice Management in the
Sofia Region
In 2005, AKF launched an integrated rural development project in the
Sofia region, with the objective of increasing rice yields by 100 percent.
The APRA-GIR (L’Apprentissage Participatif Recherche Action pour la
Gestion Intégrée du Riz) approach, or the Participative Apprenticeship
for Research and Action in Integrated Rice Management programme,
provides training to groups of farmers on alternative rice cultivation
practices to improve their livelihoods. Such practices include mapping,
planning, using different seeds, fertilizers and water management
amongst several others.
Building on their traditional knowledge, the farmers are encouraged to
experiment with this toolkit on a 10 m2 test plot, share the results and
lessons of these tests with other members of the group, and, at their
discretion, adopt certain techniques to their own fields.
Experimentation leads to new ideas and appropriate innovations better
adapted to local capacity, which is at the essence of this participative
approach. Already, the farmers from the APRA-GIR programme have
observed that their neighbors outside the group have started “borrowing”
certain techniques, such as planting in rows, and implementing them in
their adjacent fields.
In 2006, average yields were more than 100 percent higher in fields
where selected APRA-GIR practices were adopted than in neighbouring
fields without alternative cultivation techniques.
With AKAM now set up in the region of Sofia, farmers can access loans
that will enable them to better implement and sustain these different
tools and practices.
The APRA-GIR programme aims to train the farmers from the pilot
groups so that they may facilitate the training sessions and share their
knowledge and experience with others.
On their test plots, farmers experiment
with up to 30 different techniques and
tools proposed by the APRA-GIR programme
to improve rice cultivation. Five
techniques have been particularly effective:
Levelling soil beds for even distribution
of water; transplanting earlier and
at a lower density; planting in rows; using
small amounts of nitrogen; and using
weeding tools.
33

MOZAMBIQUE
Since 2001, the Coastal Rural Support Programme (CRSP) has been
the cornerstone of a larger regional development initiative in northern
Mozambique. It has helped farmers improve agricultural productivity,
raised literacy levels and improved hygiene and nutrition.
In 2006, with the support of CRSP, production levels of all major crops and
the number of hectares under cultivation increased significantly, resulting
in a 16 percent increase in food security. Through soil conservation
messages, intercropping has increased from zero in 2003 to 30 percent
in 2006; and through sesame production, seaweed farming and livestock,
US$ 600,000 in income has been generated, up from zero in 2002.
The CRSP also worked with communities to construct 13 pumps in
seven villages to provide safe water to 6,500 people. An information
and awareness campaign reached a further 40 villages, representing the
entire Quissanga district.
SPOTLIGHT:
Educational Opportunities
The sandy soil along the coast of
Mozambique presents a challenge for
growing vegetables. In 2006, with the support
of CRSP, production levels of all major
crops and the number of hectares under
cultivation increased significantly, resulting
in a 16 percent increase in food security.
Improving educational opportunities is a priority in Cabo Delgado,
the northernmost province of Mozambique. The majority of the adult
population is illiterate; four out of five women are unable to read or
write. Completion and enrolment rates are below national averages,
and despite improvements since 2000, almost one-third of students are
still failing or dropping out of primary school every year.
The situation is worse for girls than boys. For girls between six and
10, only 64 percent are in school compared with 72 percent for boys.
When girls do attend school they tend to drop out after the first few
years; by Grades 6 and 7 a small proportion remains in classrooms.
Children who do attend primary school are faced with crowded and
poorly resourced classrooms, with nearly 80 students per teacher and
a shortage of textbooks and chalkboards. In more than half of these
classrooms, teachers are not qualified. Only one in 10 children makes
the transition from primary to secondary school.
34

The CRSP responds to this challenge with a multifaceted initiative
aimed at providing to as many children as possible – particularly girls
– a relevant education that will create opportunities for the future. The
education component of the programme focuses on: early childhood
development to provide children with a head start; primary school
improvement to ensure a quality education; and youth and adult literacy
to encourage more active parental and community involvement in
children’s schooling.
The integrated structure of the programme also adds value to the
education component. The health unit, for example, has helped develop
materials that teach children the importance of hygiene and nutrition.
The agriculture unit is also working with children to introduce sound
farming techniques by opening small gardens around rural schools. By
reaching as many members of a household as possible through its various
interventions, CRSP hopes to create a more positive environment in
which children can realise their potential.
In 2006, while the programme as a whole reached a total of 17,000
households, the education component alone worked directly with
12,000 children and adults. This intervention was focused on 33 preschools,
34 primary schools and over 40 literacy groups.
In 2006, participation in early childhood
development activities increased by nearly
360 percent.
After three years of programming, primary school enrolment has
increased by 10 percent and pass rates in the districts of Quissanga and
Ibo are up by 11 and 22 percent respectively, bringing them up to the
provincial average. In 2006, the number of students attending literacy
classes rose by 400 percent, and the number of primary students
benefiting from the CRSP school improvement initiative increased by
37 percent.
Development partners in Mozambique include the Bernard van Leer
Foundation, Canadian International Development Agency, European
Commission, Instituto Portugues de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento,
Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Population Services
International and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
35

COUNTRY REVIEW
EUROPE
AND NORTH AMERICA
PORTUGAL
UNITED KINGDOM
CANADA
UNITED STATES
.
PORTUGAL
Since 2004, AKF has been addressing poverty alleviation and problems
of social exclusion in urban neighbourhoods of Portugal. The goal is to
improve the quality of life for marginalised groups, including cultural
and ethnic minorities.
SPOTLIGHT:
Strengthening Urban Neighbourhoods
AKF Portugal currently runs one major programme, the Urban
Community Support Programme (UCSP), in the neighbourhoods of Alta
de Lisboa, Mira Sintra and Ameixoeira. Since 2004, AKF has been working
in education, economic development, social cohesion and citizenship.
TAJIKISTAN
The valley of the Murghob river is prone
to natural disasters. Earthquakes may
cause landslides or even cause the breach
of the natural Usoi dam that forms Lake
Sarez, unleashing over 15 cubic kilometres
of water down the valley. Focus
Humanitarian Assistance built this footbridge
to allow villagers to gain access
to safe areas. AKF’s office in the United
Kingdom has been instrumental in raising
funds for projects that reduce the vulnerability
of communities to natural hazards.
In education, AKF has worked to:
• Improve access: Nine hundred students benefited from a new teachinglearning
model enhancement project on mathematics; a leisure
educational centre was created by a group of parents, with UCSP’s
support, removing 60 children from a drug dealing street environment;
• Improve quality: More than 100 children, their families
and pre-school teachers in four kindergarten classrooms
benefited from better quality early childhood education;
• Increase computer use and skills: Three free internet cafés
benefited nearly 750 users, including women, long-term
37

unemployed people and adults over 55; over 250 users received
basic training and certification in new information technologies.
In economic development:
• Increase and sustain levels of employment and self-employment
among the most vulnerable populations: With UCSP’s support, over
45 entrepreneurs began creating their own small businesses, seven
of which are now up and running; also, the first one-stop shopping
entrepreneurship space opened in Alta de Lisboa, to help advise and
support potential entrepreneurs.
In social cohesion and citizenship:
With the support of UCSP’s business
creation programme, urban immigrants
are able to start their own small enterprises:
Otília, from São Tomé, designs a line
of ethnic fashion accessories in Lisbon.
During a community organised Spring
Festival in Ameixoeira, neighbourhood
youth express their cultural diversity
through music, dance and caipoera.
• Empower communities: UCSP engaged 25 percent of the
populations and nearly all of the local organisations in a participatory
assessment; over 55 local organisations participated in the
development of digital resource guides, which provide residents with
information about locally available resources and infrastructures;
• Integrate communities: More than 6,000 residents from
different cultural and ethnic backgrounds participated in
various community initiatives, nearly 35 percent participated
at least once per year, an increase from 22 percent in 2004;
• Promote community networks / strengthen local institutions: More
than 80 workers from six civil society organisations received training,
and three cooperative networks were created involving over 200
local development agents.
UCSP has developed partnerships with the Lisbon Patriarchate, House
of Mercy of Lisbon, Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation, the Municipality of Lisbon, the Municipality of Sintra,
Hewlett Packard, Central Business, Associação Criança and Associação
Empresarial de Sintra. It is co-funded by the European Commission.
38

UNITED KINGDOM
Since 1973, AKF(UK) has contributed to AKDN programming through
resource mobilisation, research, engagement in policy issues, human
resource development and humanitarian assistance. In recent years, it
has also supported disaster preparedness and resilience measures for
poor communities in Tajikistan and elsewhere.
In 2006, AKF(UK) held Partnership Walks in the United Kingdom and
five other countries in Europe that brought together over 7,000 walkers,
runners and supporters. The theme highlighted AKDN’s longstanding
commitment to participatory rural development in countries such
as Pakistan, East Africa, India, Tajikistan and Mozambique. Funds raised
exceeded £400,000 (US$ 777,000).
SPOTLIGHT:
Joint Resource Mobilisation
In 2002, AKF and its partners implemented the Releasing Confidence
and Creativity (RCC) programme in Sindh and Balochistan. It is primarily
concerned with improving the quality and accessibility of early childhood
development (ECD) programmes, especially for poor and marginalised
children under eight. The “creativity” element is an important part of
AKF’s growing work in the area of early childhood “transition” – in
this case between the home, pre-school and primary school. Different
studies have shown that access to pre-school, daycare or ECD centres
can double chances of primary school enrolment as well as completion
of primary school within five years.
The Releasing Confidence and Creativity
(RCC) programme currently works with
100 public schools and 6,000 students (70
percent girls) at the pre-primary and early
primary level in Pakistan.
AKF(UK) has played a significant role in mobilising resources to support
the RCC programme and activities.
In 2006, to facilitate sharing of best practices, policy dialogue and advocacy,
and resource mobilisation, AKF held a conference on early childhood
development in the Northern Areas called “Raising Capable Children”;
organised exposure visits between RCC partners and NGOs, as well as to
Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, the Philippines and Portugal; and commissioned
an RCC booklet entitled “A Touch of Magic”, which features a series of
interviews with children, teachers, parents, communities, government
officials, RCC teams and consultants between 2002 and 2006.
39

CANADA
Since 1980, the Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) has supported AKDN
programming with activities including human resource development,
policy dialogue and engagement, and development education.
In 2006, AKFC held its 22nd annual World Partnership Walk across
nine cities in Canada. More than 37,000 walkers and sponsors came
together to help raise C$ 4.8 million (US$ 4.1 million). In addition, the
2006 World Partnership Golf tournaments raised over C$ 1.0 million
(US$ 860,000) in six cities across Canada.
SPOTLIGHT:
Shaping Canadian Perspectives on
International Development
In 2006, AKFC’s policy strategy sought to inform thinking around
shared Canadian and AKDN development priorities and to identify
opportunities to strengthen Canadian development assistance. Through
policy roundtables, lecture series, presentations and documentary films,
activities focused on issues in education, microfinance, civil society and
culture in regions ranging from Afghanistan to Zanzibar.
AKFC’s resource mobilisation efforts
contribute to MSDSP Tajikistan’s activities.
The micro-credit programme provides
community members with access to capital
for agricultural production and incomegenerating
activities: MSDSP gave six bee
families to this farmer through the Village
Organisation (VO). He has doubled the
number of bee families, and has returned
the originals to the VO for distribution to
another village member.
The Canadian Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs invited
AKFC to provide testimony on the development and security challenges
facing Africa. AKFC proposed several areas in which Canada could make
a significant and unique contribution to the development of Africa and
highlighted the outcomes of AKDN’s partnership with the Government
of Canada.
Microfinance was the focus of several policy activities in 2006. AKFC’s
annual university seminar series, events in Halifax and Ottawa which
coincided with the Global Micro-credit Summit, and the launch of a
documentary entitled “You Can Bank on Me” helped to illustrate
how Canadian involvement in AKDN’s microfinance programmes is
harnessing the entrepreneurial potential of poor communities in the
developing world.
In collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, AKFC hosted a
cultural event in conjunction with the 2006 Trudeau Foundation. The
40

event, held in Vancouver, featured a presentation which explored the loss
and recovery of culture in recent years, and a musical performance.
Together, the presentation and performance sought to underscore the
role of culture in successfully negotiating the forces of change, drawing
upon the experiences of AKDN in working with Muslim communities in
some of the poorest, most vulnerable parts of the world.
The Canadian International Development Agency is a long-time partner
of AKF. Together, they help support more than 25 AKDN development
initiatives in Asia and Africa.
Since 2001, AKFC has placed 44 young Canadian microfinance professionals with partner organisations in South and Central Asia and
Eastern Africa. These interns provide research and documentation, skills and training to build the capacity of local organisations such
as this women’s self-help group in Hyderabad, India.
41

UNITED STATES
For a quarter of a century, AKF USA has played a vital role in resource
mobilisation and technical support for many of AKDN’s international
programmes, including those in Afghanistan, East Africa, India, Pakistan
and Tajikistan.
In 2006, AKF USA raised grants of US$ 1.8 million for earthquake
reconstruction in coordination with AKF Canada, United Kingdom,
Pakistan and India; and increased direct funding in East Africa from
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by
more than US$ 10 million. AKF USA also runs a number of national
programmes, such as support for the resettlement of immigrant families
and the promotion of a better understanding of Islamic cultures in
American schools.
Since the launch of the Partnership Walk in 1995 by AKF USA’s volunteer
network, 35 Walks have been held in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston
and Los Angeles, attracting over 212,000 participants and raising funds
exceeding US$ 26 million.
In Pakistan, supporting communities after
the earthquake involved the provision of
health services through mobile clinics.
AKF also distributed over 50,000 tons
of food supplied by the US Department
of Agriculture.
SPOTLIGHT: 25th Anniversary of AKF USA
The year 2006 marks AKF USA’s 25th anniversary. In the 1980s, AKF USA
began supporting the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP)
through grants awarded by the Ford Foundation for community organising
and by USAID for infrastructure projects. The AKRSP model has since been
adapted to diverse cultural contexts in India, Kenya, Tajikistan, Afghanistan,
the Kyrgyz Republic, Mozambique, Madagascar, Syria and Mali. Its success
has led other development organisations to adopt an integrated rural
support approach.
AKF USA has mobilised US$ 200 million from public and private partners
to support projects in health, education, rural development, humanitarian
assistance, microfinance, water and sanitation, and civil society. Much of
this support has come from US government agencies. For example, US$
110 million in food aid and humanitarian assistance was raised for southeastern
Tajikistan after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Additional
resources for post-conflict Afghanistan were also mobilised.
42

AKF USA’s active role in USAID’s Advisory Committee on Voluntary
Foreign Aid as well as umbrella organisations such as the Council on
Foundations, the Independent Sector and InterAction, have helped
establish the value and credibility of the Network’s work. It was perhaps
this reputation for quality programming that led First Lady Laura Bush to
visit an AKF USA-supported, Madrasa-based early childhood programme
in Zanzibar in 2005.
AKF USA has many long-time funding partners including the US Agency
for International Development, US Department of Agriculture, US
State Department, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller
Foundation, the Flora Family Foundation, South Asia Earthquake Relief
Fund and Johnson & Johnson.
The 2006 Partnership Walk included a 25th Anniversary performance, which featured 25 characters representing a diverse range
of AKF beneficiaries. The characters delivered a few lines each to portray success stories over the 25 years of AKF USA’s history.
The performance was given in each Walk city.
43

BENEFICIARY CLOSE-UP
INDIA
Financial Independence for Poor Women
Orphaned at age 14, Hirbaiben Ibrahim Lobi, 50-year old President of the Siddi Women Federation (comprised of
550 members from 42 Women Development Groups across 19 villages) started fending for herself early in life.
Of African origin, the Siddis are descendants of slaves brought to India several centuries ago. In Gujarat, they
have settled around the Gir Forest in Junagadh district. With meager livelihoods as firewood collectors and
farm labourers, the women and men of this declining population are perceived by other communities as being
quarrelsome, “uncivilised” and untrustworthy.
This is an image that Hirbaiben is determined to change.
“Girls from our village would go
to the forest to cut firewood. One
day, two of the girls were caught
for illegal felling and I realised
that if they had [had] something
better to do, they wouldn’t have
gone through the humiliation of
being caught by the authorities. I
realised the need to be financially
independent. That’s why I started
programmes where women could
earn their living through agriculture
and other means.”
The Jambur Women’s Group produces
750 tonnes of organic compost per year,
earning a profit of US$ 16,000.
Hirbaiben’s leadership qualities
were visible at an early age. Though
sons usually inherit land, her father
left her 0.5 hectares. With her
44

Representatives of the Siddi Women’s
Federation. The Federation helps pilot
various income generating activities, and
manages a revolving fund which allows
easy access to credit for member groups.
husband, Hirbaiben tilled the land manually and paid off a debt of Rs 100,000 (US$ 2,250). An eager learner, she
picked up agricultural practices by tuning into the radio. As yields improved, so did her desire to work for the
betterment of the Siddis.
When the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) got involved, Hirbaiben started going from house to
house to request that women form groups to save, access loans and build micro-enterprises. Having only studied
till the second grade, she urged the women to think ahead.
“We must think about our children’s future and invest in small business ventures. Do we want them to lead
a life like ours Why can’t we have at least one graduate from every
Siddi village It is through our own development that others will treat
us with respect.”
In 1998, Hirbaiben learnt how to produce organic compost through
training supported by AKRSP(I). She returned eager to start an enterprise.
Despite ridicule from others, a group of five women began to prepare
the compost. In the first year she offered to buy back all 200 bags if there
were no takers. Production has since diversified into five different products
and increased to 15,000 bags of compost per year. “Panchtatwa” is now a
brand to reckon with.
Recipient of the Women’s World Summit Foundation Prize in 2002 and
of the Jankidevi Bajaj Award 2006 for Rural Entrepreneurship, Hirbaiben
is today a democratically elected member of the local government at the
block level. “People from other communities seek support from me for
their problems,” she says, an indication that integration of the Siddis with
other communities has indeed begun.
Research and experience have
shown that taking gender considerations
into account in planning
economic and social interventions
increases the probability of their
success. It has also been shown
that families and communities
benefit exponentially when women
reap greater rewards for their own
efforts and labour, and men recognise
their contributions.
45

BENEFICIARY FOREWORD CLOSE-UP DISASTERS AND DEVELOPMENT MOZAMBIQUE
Rural Shopkeeping Pays for School
Sacuru Canduru Ausse, age 27, is from Cabo Delgado, the northernmost province of Mozambique. Sacuru is the
second of five children. Orphaned at a young age, he and his older sister did not have the means to buy books
or the opportunity to attend school.
In 1998, Sacuru opened shop in a straw shanty, under a big mango tree in Nangua (in the Pemba Metuge district
of Cabo Delgado). He sold cigarettes, batteries, matches, oil, or as he
put it, “a few things…but a lot of things…”
“Well, it happened and it was very good!
There were several other shops in “the mango place”– bigger shops
stocked with more merchandise and run by more experienced
shopkeepers. But, they all eventually
closed down. “Most of the sellers
didn’t take business seriously, weren’t
dedicated to work…” said Sacuru.
But for this young shopkeeper, less
competition meant potentially more
business – with just one caveat.
Today, I’m still working well and AKF likes
my work,” says Sacuru (facing page in his
first shop, below in the new one).
Without other shops in the vicinity,
the shanty quickly became a target
of vandalism.
“You know, people are complicated
when you try to do something,”
said Sacuru, implying that villagers
who did not take work seriously
resented his efforts and wanted to
46

urn down his shop. Not willing to run the risk, Sacuru paid his brother-in-law 4,000 MZN (154 USD) in 2002
to construct a proper shop from cement, just in front of the shanty.
In 2005, during the drought period, there was a shortage of seeds for the village farmers. In an effort to
improve agricultural productivity, the AKF Coastal Rural Support Programme (CRSP) proposed to facilitate
access to essential farming tools and materials through a network of private rural shops. The challenge though
was finding someone who would agree to sell these items. Most shopkeepers did not see a profit in selling
farming tools and refused to collaborate with CRSP.
Sacuru was the sole shopkeeper who agreed to sell the tools. With the support and advice of CRSP, and
a business expansion loan of 5,000 MZN (192 USD) from the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM),
he began stocking his shop with hoes, machetes, rasps, picks and a variety of seeds for maize, peanuts, beans,
sesame and millet, as well as cabbage, lettuce and carrots.
Farming tools have become a profitable business for Sacuru, and in 2006, he opened a second, newly
constructed shop in Mieze (also in the Pemba Metuge district). Here, he is well situated on the national road,
at the intersection of Cabo Delgado’s two largest cities, Pemba and Montepuez. This time, he paid his brotherin-law’s
construction fee with the equivalent in sales merchandise.
In the new shop, Sacuru has hired a long-time friend, Atanásio, as his first employee. Sacuru’s younger brother,
Age, has also learned the business and is eager to help out. But, Sacuru insists that education come first: “I told
him that business can be something that doesn’t last, and we cannot depend all on the same thing!”
With two successful shops, Sacuru makes sure that education is a family-wide investment: he has enrolled
Age and his two other brothers Matola and Culsuum in Grades 9 and 10, his wife in Grade 7 and his son in
Grade 5.
47

FOREWORD
In the remote mountainous regions of Northern Pakistan, the Aga Khan
Education Service, with the support of AKF, has a clear policy of maintaining
a 65:35 ratio of girls to boys in its school system.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY
CONSOLIDATED (US$ MILLION)*
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Income
Grants and donations
Income from investments
Income from properties
Other income and exchange gain
Total Income
Expenditure
Programme grants and assistance
Administration
Depreciation, amortisation and properties
Other expenses and exchange loss
Total Expenditure
Excess of Income over expenses
2005 2006
175.2
23.5
1.0
30.5
230.2
196.6
52.0
3.4
1.7
253.7
128.5 120.1
21.1 20.9
7.0 21.9
8.0 22.1
164.6 184.9
65.5 68.8
2006
INCOME
2005
2006
10 % Investments
1 % Properties
13 % Other income and exchange
76 % Grants and donations
21 % Investments
1 % Properties
1 % Other income and exchange
77 % Grants and donations
BALANCE SHEET
Assets
EXPENDITURE
Cash and investments
Receivables and other current assets
Long-term loans
Properties and equipment
Total Assets
425.8
77.7
243.7
268.1
1,015.3
441.5
57.8
249.3
359.2
1,107.8
2005
4 % Depreciation
13 % Administration
5 % Other expenditures
78 % Programme
Liabilities and Fund Balance
Payables and liabilities
Fund balance
Total Liabilities and Fund Balance
201.5
813.8
1,015.3
184.7
923.1
1,107.8
2006
12 % Depreciation
11 % Administration
12 % Other expenditures
65 % Programme
* Unaudited. Includes Aga Khan Foundation’s head offi ce, branches and affi liates.
49

PROGRAMME PARTNERS
INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATIONS
The Foundation works with many institutional partners across the world. In 2006, those
cited below contributed to its programmes. It also works closely with state and national
governments in all countries where it operates. In addition, the Ismaili community provides
substantial fi nancial support. The Foundation is most grateful to all.
The AKDN has agreements with the following countries and organisations: Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Ivory Coast,
Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Mali, Mozambique, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Syria,
Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, United Kingdom and the United Nations (UNDP and WHO).
AFGHANISTAN
• Government of Afghanistan
CANADA
• Canadian High Commission, India
• Canadian International Development Agency
• Northwater Foundation
• RBC Foundation
DENMARK
• Danish International Development Agency
• The Office of the Representative of
Denmark to Afghanistan
GERMANY
• Federal Foreign Office
• Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
INDIA
• Government of India and State Governments
of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan
• Ministry of Rural Development
• Sir Ratan Tata Trust
JAPAN
• Japanese Embassy, Afghanistan
• Japan International Cooperation
Agency
MOZAMBIQUE
• Mozal Community Development Trust
THE NETHERLANDS
• Bernard van Leer Foundation
• Dutch Embassy, Afghanistan
• Dutch Embassy, Pakistan
• Flow Fund Foundation
• Netherlands Organisation for International
Development Co-operation
NEW ZEALAND
• New Zealand Aid
NORWAY
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation
PAKISTAN
• Government of Pakistan
• Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund
PORTUGAL
• Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Portugal)
• Instituto Portugues de Apoio ao
Desenvolvimento
• Ministério do Trabalho e Solidariedade Social
• Municipality of Lisbon
• Municipality of Sintra
• Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (Lisbon
House of Mercy)
SWEDEN
• Swedish International Development Agency
SWITZERLAND
• Swiss Agency for Development
and Cooperation
SYRIA
• Government of Syria
TAJIKISTAN
• Christian Aid, Tajikistan
• Government of Tajikistan
UNITED KINGDOM
• Barclays Bank
• British High Commission, India
• Comic Relief
• Department for International Development
• Foreign & Commonwealth Office
UNITED STATES
• American Institutes for Research
• American Red Cross
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• CARE
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Christenson Fund
• Citigroup Foundation
• ELMA Relief Foundation, The
• Flora Family Foundation
• Ford Foundation
• Pfizer
• Rockefeller Foundation
• South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education
• US Agency for International Development
• US Department of Agriculture
• US Department of State
INTERNATIONAL
• Asian Development Bank
• European Commission
• European Commission Humanitarian Aid
Office (ECHO)
• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria
• Hewlett Packard
• International Center for Agricultural
Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
• International Organization for Migration
• Johnson & Johnson
• Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries
• Population Services International
• United Nations (Food and Agriculture
Organization, UN Children’s Fund, UN
Development Programme, UN Office on
Drugs and Crime)
• World Bank, The
50

CURRENT PROJECTS
EDUCATION
• AKU-Institute for Educational Development,
Pakistan
• Allied Schools (school improvement) project,
Tajikistan
• Coastal Rural Support Programme -
Education (Mozambique)
• Continuing education and institutional
strengthening, Mozambique
• Education, Dairy and Nutrition Programme
(school milk programme), Tajikistan
• Education sector reform programme,
Tajikistan
• Educational support for children of
marginalised populations, Kenya
• Improving the quality of learning in Zanzibar,
Tanzania
• Institute for Professional Development,
Tajikistan
• Madrasa Programme Resource Centres and
research, East Africa
• Mountain Societies Development Support
Programme - Education (Kyrgyz Republic)
• National early childhood development
programme, Syria
• Northern Pakistan Education Programme
• PIAR-LCPC Women’s Development Program
(language development), USA
• Programme for Enrichment of School Level
Education, India
• Quality Assurance Institutional Development
(improving private education in urban areas),
Pakistan
• Releasing Confidence and Creativity (early
childhood development), Pakistan
• Rural education support programme,
Afghanistan
• School improvement projects and research,
East Africa
• Teacher Advancement Programme, Zanzibar
• Teacher education programme (AKU-IED),
Syria
• Teacher training colleges, Afghanistan
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
• Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India)
• Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Pakistan
• Coastal Rural Support Programme (Kenya)
• Coastal Rural Support Programme
(Mozambique)
• Integrated rural development programme,
with a particular focus on enhancing
alternative livelihood options, Afghanistan
• Mountain Societies Development Support
Programme (Kyrgyz Republic)
• Mountain Societies Development Support
Programme, Tajikistan
• Salamieh rural support programme, Syria
HEALTH
• Advanced Nursing Studies programme,
East Africa
• Building and Construction Improvement
Programme, Pakistan
• Building capacity to treat Tuberculosis, Pakistan
• Coastal Rural Support Programme - Health
(Mozambique)
• Community health programme in Salamieh, Syria
• Community health programme in the
Northern Areas, Pakistan
• Community health programme, Afghanistan
• Community Led Initiatives for Child Survival
(Child survival programme in Maharashtra),
India
• Essential Hospital Services Programme
(Providing essential hospital services),
Tajikistan
• Gujarat Environmental Health Improvement
Programme (water and sanitation), India
• Health sector reform programme, Tajikistan
• HIV/AIDS Programme, Zanzibar
• Institutes of Health Sciences, Afghanistan
• Medical facility construction and rehabilitation,
Afghanistan
• Mountain Societies Development Support
Programme - Health (Kyrgyz Republic)
• Nursing Improvement Programme
(AKU-SON), Syria
• Raising awareness of mental health issues,
USA
• Rationalising Pharmaceutical Management and
Policy, Tajikistan
• Reproductive Health and Child Survival,
Tajikistan
• Strengthening health systems in Coast
Province, Kenya
• Water and Sanitation Extension Programme,
Pakistan
• Water and sanitation programme, Afghanistan
CIVIL SOCIETY
• Human Resource Development Network,
Pakistan
• Kashf Foundation, Pakistan
• NGO Resource Centre Zanzibar, Tanzania
• NGO Resource Centre, Pakistan
• Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy
• Social Institutions Development Programme,
Pakistan (PAKSID)
• Young Development Professionals
programme, East Africa
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
• Earthquake relief, rehabilitation and
reconstruction, Pakistan/India
• Fostering Disaster Resilient Communities in
Isolated Mountain Areas of Tajikistan
• Post-Tsunami Relief to Development, India
• Provision of shelters to returning refugees,
Afghanistan
OTHER PROJECTS
• Aga Khan Humanities Project Film on Nosir
Khusraw, Tajikistan and Afghanistan
• BRAC Learning Partnership,
Canada/Bangladesh
• Canadian Development Exchange
Programme
• Capacity building and institutional linkages
- University of Central Asia, Canada/USA
• Fellowship in International Development
Management, Canada
• Fellowship in International Microfinance and
Microenterprise, Canada
• First MicroFinanceBank of Afghanistan
• Human resource development for volunteers,
USA
• Initiative on Pluralist Societies, Canada
• International Development Scholarship
Programme, Canada
• International Scholarship Programme
• Internship Program, USA
• Islamic Cultural Studies Program, University of
Texas at Austin, USA
• Policy and research initiatives, Canada
• Gujarat earthquake rehabilitation, India
• Strategic Alliances for Learning, Policy Change
and Funding, United Kingdom
• Tajik Scholarship Programme, Tajikistan
• University Seminar Series, Canada
• Urban Community Support Programme,
Portugal
51

FACTS AT A GLANCE
FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN
His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader
of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
His Highness the Aga Khan,
Prince Amyn Aga Khan, Maître André
Ardoin, Guillaume de Spoelberch.
ESTABLISHED
Head Offi ce - Geneva, Switzerland (1967),
Pakistan (1969), United Kingdom (1973),
Kenya (1974), India (1978), Bangladesh
(1980), Canada (1980), United States of
America (1981), Portugal (1983), Tanzania
(1991), Uganda (1992), Tajikistan (1995),
Mozambique (2000), Kyrgyz Republic
(2003), Afghanistan (2003), Syria (2003),
Egypt (2006), Madagascar (2006).
ORGANISATION
Private, not-for-profi t, non-denominational,
development agency. Part of the Aga Khan
Development Network (AKDN), a group
of nine institutions working in health,
education, culture and rural and economic
development.
PURPOSE
AKF seeks sustainable solutions to longterm
problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy
and ill-health with special emphasis on the
needs of rural communities in mountainous,
coastal and other resource-poor areas.
PROGRAMME PRIORITIES
Education, rural development, health, civil
society and the environment, with particular
emphasis on community participation,
gender, pluralism and human resource
development.
GRANTEES
Grants are normally made to nongovermental
organisations that share
the Foundation’s goals. In some cases,
where there is no appropriate partner,
the Foundation may help to create a new
civil society organisation or may manage
projects directly. Grantees are selected
without regard to origin, religion, gender
or political association.
STAFF
2,750 worldwide. AKF attempts, as a
management principle, to develop local
human resource capacity and most AKF
employees are nationals of the countries
where AKF offi ces are located.
GOALS
There are four central objectives:
• Make it possible for poor people to
act in ways that will lead to long-term
improvements in their income and
health, in the environment and in the
education of their children;
• Provide communities with a greater
range of choices and the understanding
necessary to take informed action;
• Enable benefi ciaries to gain the
confi dence and competence to
participate in the design, implementation
and continuing operation of activities
that affect the quality of their lives;
• Put institutional, management and fi -
nancial structures in place ensuring that
programme activities are sustainable
without Foundation assistance within a
reasonable time frame.
SOURCES OF FUNDING AND
ENDOWMENT
His Highness the Aga Khan, grants from
development agencies, income from the
endowment and donations from individuals
and corporations.
EVALUATION
Major projects are evaluated by independent
professionals, in many cases in partnership
with the agencies that co-fund them.
For more information please visit our
web site: www.akdn.org
52

C o n t a c t s
Aga Khan Foundation
1-3 avenue de la Paix
1202 Geneva
Case postale 2369
1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 909 7200
Fax: +41 22 909 7291
e-mail: akf@akdn.org
BRANCHES
Aga Khan Foundation (Afghanistan)
House N° 43, Street N° 13, Main Road
Wazir Akbar Khan
P.O. Box 5753
Kabul, Afghanistan
Tel: +873 763 631 488
+93(0) 20 230 1189
Fax: +873 763 631 489
Aga Khan Foundation (Bangladesh)
SW(F)3B, Road N° 2 Gulshan 1
P.O. Box 6025
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 2 989 4871
Fax +880 2 882 3261
Aga Khan Foundation (Egypt)
Number 18, El Nasr Street
New Maadi
Postal Code 11435
Cairo
Egypt
Tel: +20 252 01 505
Aga Khan Foundation (India)
Sarojini House, 2nd floor
6, Bhagwan Dass Road
New Delhi 110001, India
Tel: +91 11 2378 2173
Fax: +91 11 2378 2174
Aga Khan Foundation (Kenya)
East Africa Regional Office
ICEA Building (8th floor)
Kenyatta Avenue
P.O. Box 40898-00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: +254 20 223951
Fax: +254 20 248296
Aga Khan Foundation (Kyrgyz Republic)
7, Michurina Street
714000 Osh, Kyrgyz Republic
Tel/Fax: +996 3222 56718
Aga Khan Foundation (Madagascar)
Lot VF 77
Lalana Solombavambahoaka Frantsay
Antsahavola
Antananarivo 101
Madagascar
Tel: +261 202 426 188
Aga Khan Foundation (Mozambique)
Edificio Sua Alteza Aga Khan
Av. Albert Luthuli 739
P.O. Box 746
Maputo, Mozambique
Tel: +258 21 40 9007 / 8
Fax: +258 21 40 9010
Aga Khan Foundation (Pakistan)
House N° 1, Street N° 61
Sector F-6/3
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92 51 111 253254
Fax: +92 51 227 6815 / 4504
Aga Khan Foundation (Syria)
Abou Rumaneh, Rawda Square
Abdul Kader Al Jazairi Street
Building No. 15
Damascus, Syria
Tel +963 11 334 3610/11
Fax +963 11 334 3613
Aga Khan Foundation (Tanzania)
P.O. Box 125
Plot 37, Haile Selassie Road
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel: +255 22 266 7923
Fax: +255 22 266 8527
Aga Khan Foundation (Uganda)
2nd Floor, Diamond Trust Building
Plot 17/19, Kampala Road
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 41 25 5884 / 6165
Fax: +256 41 34 0126
AFFILIATES
Aga Khan Foundation Canada
Constitution Square
360 Albert Street
Suite 1220
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1R 7X7
Tel: +1 613 237 2532
Fax: +1 613 567 2532
Aga Khan Foundation Portugal
Ismaili Centre
1, Avenida Lusiada
1600-001 Lisbon
Portugal
Tel: +351 21 722 9001
Fax: +351 21 722 9011
Aga Khan Foundation Tajikistan
137 Rudaki Avenue
Building “Tajikmatlubot”, 4th floor
Dushanbe 734003, Tajikistan
Tel: +992 372 247650
+873 762 560065
Fax: +992 372 510061
+873 762 560061
Aga Khan Foundation United Kingdom
3 Cromwell Gardens
London SW7 2HB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7591 6800
Fax: +44 20 7589 0641
Aga Khan Foundation USA
1825 K Street, N.W., Suite 901
Washington, D.C. 20006
United States of America
Tel: +1 202 293 2537
Fax: +1 202 785 1752
PUBLICATION CREDITS:
Photography: Jean-Luc Ray, except the following:
Naoura Al-Azmeh (p. 14, p. 24-5); Caroline Arnold (p.
48); Aziz Baig (p. 42); Kathy Bartlett (p. 5 top); Wendy
Griffin (p. 39); Thomas Kelly (cover page, p.4 middle,
p. 12, p. 20); Vijay Kutty (p. 44-5); Alain Lits (p. 10, p.
32-3); Jean Mohr (p. 23 middle); Lucas Cuervo Moura
(p. 13); David Nygaard (p. 35); Robin Oldacre-Reed
(p. 9, p. 22); Gary Otte (p. 3); Amit Pasricha (p. 19
bottom); Jamie Rector (p. 43); Rajendra Shaw (p. 4
top); Theodore White (p. 42 bottom); Courtesy of
AKF Afghanistan (p. 16); Courtesy of AKF Canada (p.
41); Courtesy of AKF Egypt (p. 17); Courtesy of AKF
India (p. 18-19); Courtesy of AKF Kyrgyz Republic
(p. 21); Courtesy of AKF Portugal (p. 38); Courtesy
of AKF USA (p. 42 top, p. 43).
Printed: Imprimeries Réunies Lausanne s.a.
© 2007 Aga Khan Foundation

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