The Aga Khan – 60 years of developing communities

AKDN’s unique, multi-input development ideas have addressed health, education, infrastructure and economic...

His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), is the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, as Imam in 1957 at the age of 20. For the Aga Khan, one manifestation of his hereditary responsibilities has been a deep and persistent engagement with development. His engagement, grounded in the ethics of Islam, has contributed to the progress, well-being and dignity of millions of people in some of the world’s poorest, most deprived and most diverse communities.



AKDN is a well-defined institutional framework consisting of non-denominational agencies working to build capacity and improve living conditions and opportunities for disadvantaged communities. The network’s organisations have individual mandates, ranging from the fields of health and education to architecture, rural development, poverty alleviation and promotion of private-sector enterprise. In every country, these institutions work for the common good of all citizens regardless of their origin or religion.  They work towards a common goal – to build institutions and programmes that can respond to the challenges of social, economic and cultural change on an ongoing basis, eventually enabling self-sustaining communities.

AKDN’s social development agencies include Aga Khan Health Services, Aga Khan Education Services, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Aga Khan Academies, Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance, Aga Khan Foundation as well as two universities, Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.



The Aga Khan Trust for Culture co-ordinates AKDN’s cultural activities, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, Historic Cities Programme, and Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) is dedicated to building enterprises in tourism, banking, insurance, media, aviation, industry and infrastructure, reinvesting profits in further development initiatives.

The Aga Khan’s visionary approach to development through AKDN has had a profound impact on Pakistan over the course of his Imamat. AKDN’s unique multi-input approach to development addresses health, education, infrastructure and economic development, and focuses on heritage preservation and community spaces.

From early childhood development to tertiary education, AKDN provides access to quality education to nearly 50,000 Pakistanis annually. The Aga Khan University Hospital and Aga Khan Health Services leads a network of hospitals, healthcare centres and maternity homes, enabling access to quality healthcare for almost 2 million people. In geologically vulnerable areas, AKDN provides disaster relief and trains communities to respond to natural hazards. To date, 172 Community Emergency Response Teams and 36,000 volunteers have been trained in disaster response and management across Pakistan.

Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) has pioneered heritage preservation as a means of regenerating historical areas, which are often home to impoverished communities. From the preservation of the Altit and Baltit forts to restoration of the Shahi Hamam and Wazir Khan Chowk in Lahore, AKTC has set the benchmark for sensitive, high-quality heritage restoration.

Aga Khan Rural Support Programme’s (AKRSP) innovative community-led approach has become best practice in numerous countries. More than 5,000 Village and Women Organisations are currently working in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral alone. AKRSP has set up more than 333 micro-hydroelectric projects providing electricity to over 40,000 households in G-B and Chitral, as well as safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to over 500,000 people.



The Aga Khan has described the role and purpose of AKDN in the following words:

“The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) consists of a series of specialised agencies that have been brought into existence over the years since 1957 in response to needs that have been identified in many of the developing countries of Asia and Africa. It is rooted in the ethics of our faith, and it serves all the populations we seek to support, without regard to gender, race or faith.”

In recognition of his exceptional efforts and contributions to development and social upliftment of societies globally, the Aga Khan has, over the last six decades, received innumerable decorations, honorary degrees, and awards from institutions and nations world over, including the Global Pluralism Award, the UN Champion of Global Change Award, and Asia Society’s Game Changer Lifetime Achievement Award.