The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) works towards the vision of an economically dynamic, politically stable, intellectually vibrant and culturally tolerant Tajikistan. AKDN supports the establishment of programmes and institutions that allow the Government, private sector and civil society to play complementary roles in increasing prosperity and creativity within a pluralistic society.
The Network brings together individual agencies that operate in a range of areas – from economic development to education, rural development to cultural revitalization, health care to financial services. Together these agencies collaborate towards a common goal – to build institutions and programmes that can respond to the contemporary challenges and opportunities of social, economic and cultural growth in Tajikistan.
Operating in Tajikistan since 1992, AKDN draws on a strong base of experience in working with mountain societies. It works in all regions of the country and employs over 3,500 people through its operations.
When subsidies for the health sector were withdrawn following the demise of the Soviet Union, the Tajik health system faced collapse. The hospital-based curative care programme was costly – and unsustainable in many areas. In response, AKDN worked with the Tajik government in poor areas, such as the remote Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, to make the transition to community-based primary preventive care. More