The Aga Khan University and its partners conducted the largest-ever National Nutrition Survey in Pakistan to provide policymakers, programme managers and academics with a unique set of nutrition-related data that is yielding environmental, anthropometric and biochemical insights.
To help smallholder farmers increase their income, the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute and the International Potato Centre also organised workshops on the process of introducing low-cost farming technologies for over 150 villagers in five villages of Khatlon.
This policy brief was developed as an output from the Development Dialogue on “Food Security and Nutrition in Kyrgyzstan – Trends, Challenges and the Next Steps” in November 2018.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UCA distributed food and medical supplies to 500 families identified by the Mayor’s office in the vulnerable category in Naryn (Kyrgyzstan). This includes masks, hand sanitizers, antibacterial soap, flour, pasta and cooking oil. This donation was made possible through a partnership between the University of Central Asia, the Aga Khan Development Network, the Aga Khan Foundation Kyrgyzstan, and the Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB).
In early March, Prince Rahim, accompanied by his wife, Princess Salwa, visited Kenya and Tanzania, to better understand the plans and responses of the various institutions and agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network towards environmental sustainability and climate action.
The University of Central Asia’s (UCA) Mountain Societies Research Institute (MSRI) organised a “Fragile Water” exhibit in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan). Schoolchildren from 10 local schools presented water related projects, as part of MSRI’s “Kyrgyz Mountains Environmental Education and Citizen Science” project.
Makenna Muigai, the 17-year-old Kenyan climate activist and student at the Aga Khan Academy in Kenya, speaks with all Africa's David Njagi in an interview about the locust invasion in East Africa, what African leaders need to do and how the climate crisis affects the peace agenda on the continent.
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) and its partner the State Agency for Hydrometeorology (Hydromet), with the financial support of the Government of Switzerland, successfully launched the knowledge and data-sharing platform dubbed “Open Centre” at Hydromet’s offices in Dushanbe. AKAH Tajikistan CEO Hadi Husani said, “AKAH is committed to working with government and the international community to provide solutions for disaster management. We look forward to seeing how the interlinked centres support the work between these three government departments.” AKAH, which merges the capabilities of Focus Humanitarian Assistance, the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services, and AKDN’s Disaster Risk Management Initiative, focuses on preparing for both sudden and slow-onset disasters. AKAH works to ensure that poor people live in physical settings that are as safe as possible from the effects of natural disasters; that residents who do live in high-risk areas are able to cope with disasters in terms of preparedness and response; and that these settings provide access to social and financial services that lead to greater opportunity and a better quality of life. Initially, priority areas of AKAH will include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and India.
HDFC, an Indian bank, started the Farm Field School, a programme that is helping rural and marginalised communities in Bihar’s Vaishali district better their lives. Partnering with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), HDFC commenced this programme in two blocks of Vaishali district, working with rural and marginalised communities to provide a better quality of life.
On 2 February, the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government signed an agreement to develop agricultural land through construction of water channels in parts of the mountainous region. The pact was signed by the government through its project Economic Transformation Initiative, Gilgit-Baltistan (ETI-GB) with the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in Islamabad. Through this initiative "Village Agriculture Cooperatives" will be formed and registered. Since the project of ETI-GB entails development of agricultural land through construction of water channels, the AKRSP in partnership with the local community will distribute, develop and cultivate land.