Browsing: Aga Khan Development Network

The project uses a comprehensive approach to combat cancer, involving communities and building capacity to over 400 community health care workers, and raising awareness by printing and distributing over 3,000 books and 5,000 Information, Communications and Education (ICE) materials.

“This project aims to complement the government efforts towards reducing cancer morbidity and mortality,” said Minister of Health Ummy Mwalimu.

“The government cannot single-handedly combat the growing burden of cancer, hence we commend TCCP for their innovation towards demonstrating the success of public-private collaboration to control cancer in the country,” she added.…

With more than 11 million confirmed cases and over 530,000 deaths globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact around the world.  While many countries continue to grapple with the ongoing surge of new cases, the pandemic has offered the opportunity to reflect on the current achievements and challenges of our healthcare systems.

For one, the novel coronavirus has created an unprecedented disruption for healthcare systems, which have had to balance between maintaining ongoing operations, scaling-up infectious disease programmes, supporting healthcare workers, and managing financial stress while supporting their communities. At an institutional level, the pandemic has forced our hospitals, clinics and other health institutions to quickly scale up their clinical, facility and support protocols to provide efficient and meaningful care to those in critical need.

But for health institutions, like Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS), the concept of pandemic response planning is not only built into our …

Rarely does any so-called “world leader” impress me. Some of them probably mean well in that superior, “I know better than you do what’s good for you” kind of way.

But in the big scheme of things, they are all elected for very short periods of time in office. Australian Prime Ministers get only three years at a time. US Presidents get four, maximum eight years.

In my view, that means they have little or no realistic chance to effect meaningful change for the good and leave their mark, unless they attempt something radical and reckless in the short term, pandering to certain interest groups.

Therein lies the problem. It takes much longer to effect meaningful change.

To cut to the chase, the list of world leaders, or former world leaders who served in my own adult life-time, whom I admire, is pretty short.

There are two:

• Nelson Mandela.

In 2005, the landscape of Cairo, Egypt’s biggest city changed for the good. Through the Aga Khan Trust for Culture AKTC), a new 30-hectare (74-acre) Al-Azhar park, undertaken in the historic district of Cairo was unveiled.

The site had become a large rubbish dump, which the AKTC began to gradually remove and clean in collaboration with the Egyptian Government and local community.

The leisure and recreational space created a “green lung” in the heart of the densely populated city. The project included the excavation and extensive restoration of the 12th Century Ayyubid wall and the rehabilitation of important monuments and landmark buildings in the Historic City. It also encompassed an extensive social development programme, including apprenticeship arrangements, housing rehabilitation, micro-credit and health care facilities.

Fifteen years later, the work of this park is getting another highlight with the release of a film, entitled Al-Khimyah, written and directed by Prince …

Aga Khan Academy Mombasa has over the years been receiving accolades for developing positive changes and curriculum that supports community sensitive change. This has over the years been recognized by the local and international organization especially with its students being change-makers in different organizations across the globe.

Recently, Ziyaan Virji, 17, a student at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa, was rewarded with The Diana Award for going above and beyond his everyday life to create and sustain positive change. The Diana Award, which celebrates its 20^th anniversary this year, is considered one of the highest accolades for social action or humanitarian efforts that a young person can receive.

In 2017, whilst working on his ”Personal Project” – an in-depth research-based project – for his International Baccalaureate studies at the Academy, Ziyaan was surprised to learn that 500 million girls across the world do not have access to the …