Globally, at least 400 million people lack access to essential health services. Every year, 150 million people suffer financial catastrophe due to out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure. Seventy percent of all deaths globally are a result of non-communicable diseases. Approximately 663 million people living in marginalised, resource-poor geographies still rely on unclean, unimproved water sources. Especially troubling is the 1.3 million adolescent deaths that occur annually, most of which could be prevented.
As one of AKDN’s three key agencies in health, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) harnesses its longstanding work with communities and village organisations to enable the optimisation of health and well-being and allow people to reach their full potential. This means improving the nutritional status of women, new-borns, adolescents and children, improving access to and the utilisation of integrated healthcare services, and improving adolescent health and well-being.
Programme highlights 1: AKF supports 21,000 volunteer or community health / nutrition workers.
Programme highlights 2: AKF-supports community health and nutrition services reached 390,000 people.
Community health workers
AKF strengthens community health workers to reduce the burden of illness and achieve universal coverage. The approach entails strengthening and expanding the network of community health workers through capacity building, provision of materials and supportive supervision. AKF promotes community health worker retention by strengthening civil society support groups and ensuring linkages to livelihoods and other relevant programmes.
Community prevention, treatment and referral
AKF helps reduce the burden of illness at the community level through improved knowledge of positive health, hygiene and nutrition behaviours and practices. It achieves this through robust behaviour change communication strategies and community engagement. AKF also works to expand the reach of primary care services by supporting and scaling-up community case management and strengthening community monitoring and referral mechanisms.
Community nutrition screening and support
AKF works to reduce the burden of malnutrition at the community level by supporting improved knowledge of positive nutrition behaviours and practices, including support for strong infant and young child feeding practices. AKF also works to reduce micronutrient deficiencies through food-based approaches, as well as community-based micronutrient supplementation. AKF supports community-based growth monitoring to keep children on track for healthy growth, identify undernutrition and improve access to nutrition treatment programmes.
Programme highlights 1: AKF reaches 28,000 adolescent girls in India.
Programme highlights 2: Through the Adolescent Health and Well Being Pilot Project, AKF aims to reach 120 girls and 120 boys (11 to 15 years) and 100 parents and caregivers in five locations in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region of Tajikistan in 2020.
Health and nutrition support for adolescent girls
AKF improves the preconception health and nutritional status of adolescent girls and reduce the risk of intergenerational transmission of poor health and nutrition. AKF’s approach addresses the broad health and development needs of adolescents, with a focus on improving adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, including access to maternal care and support, interventions that delay the age at which women give birth and access to family planning.
Building resilience to reduce long-term risk
AKF seeks to reduce adolescents’ risks, build resilience and broaden their opportunities as a conduit to addressing underlying drivers of poor health, including reducing risks of violence, harmful attitudes, norms, behaviours and practices that contribute to gender inequality and infringe upon adolescents’ rights. This includes reducing morbidity and mortality amongst adolescents because of communicable disease and curbing the growing burden of non-communicable disease by addressing risk factors early on.
Working with traditional and non-traditional gatekeepers
AKF seeks to work through traditional gatekeepers - from schools and other formal institutions to community leaders, parents and caregivers - in order to enhance awareness of adolescent health issues and implement early intervention programmes that address and prevent common adolescent health risks. AKF is piloting an adolescent well-being programme in Tajikistan that aims to identify and utilise non-traditional individuals and institutions trusted by adolescents to reach greater numbers of adolescents and get a deeper understanding of their needs and risks to collaborate and co-design programming.
Programme highlights 1: AKF supports close to 7,000 health workers worldwide.
Programme highlights 2: AKDN operates 200+ health centres and hospitals, which see more than five million patients a year.
Facility-based and outreach services
AKF strengthens facility-community linkages, including outreach and mobile services and referral mechanisms. AKF also encourages marginalised people to access services through interventions to address financial and physical barriers to accessing health services. AKF works to strengthen the provision of public primary health care and works with public and private providers to address exclusion of the most vulnerable to services.
Adolescent-friendly health services
AKF works with primary care providers to ensure adolescents have access to quality, adolescent-friendly primary healthcare services with an emphasis on community based and first referral level care. This includes supporting care providers to ensure non-judgemental, confidential services for young people. AKF fosters health system linkages through school health services and encourages routine health service use for check-up, screening and immunisations.
Regional health systems
AKDN operates one of the largest non-profit private healthcare systems in the developing world. AKF plays a key role supporting the development of efficient and appropriate regional health systems, with other AKDN agencies involved in health such as Aga Khan University and Aga Khan Health Services. The AKDN aims to transform service delivery, education and research as well as expand the quality and reach of AKDN and government facilities.
Programme highlights 1: AKF-supported water and sanitation programmes reach 270,000 people across India.
Programme highlights 2: AKF-supported water and sanitation programmes reach over 500,000 people across worldwide.
Water and sanitation facilities
Alongside other AKDN agencies, AKF works with communities to develop sustainable water supplies, sanitation and effective management of productive water resources, thereby contributing to prevention of waterborne and water-related disease.
AKF works to ensure water and sanitation coverage across health care facilities, for both infection prevention and control and so that women and girls have safe access to latrines without fear of violence.
