Tajikistan - Overview of AKDN Activities in Tajikistan

Operating in Tajikistan since 1992, AKDN draws on a strong base of experience in working with mountain societies.The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) works towards the vision of an economically dynamic, politically stable, intellectually vibrant, and culturally tolerant Tajikistan. This is achieved by supporting 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 approximately 3,000 people through its operations and investments.

Economic Development

As part of its approach to economic development, AKDN makes long-term investments in Tajikistan in areas where essential infrastructure is lacking. In 2002, the Network and its partners founded the PamirEnergy company. Under a public-private partnership agreement signed with Government of Tajikistan, the company is managing the operation of all power generation, transmission and distribution facilities of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) for a 25-year concession period.

PamirEnergy has invested more than US $26.8 million since 2002 to repair electrical infrastructure, expand hydroelectric capacity and institute a metering system in the region. Following its rehabilitations, over 86 percent of the population of GBAO now has access to electricity and the total capacity of the 11 hydropower plants it operates has increased to 42 Megawatts (MW), from 28 MW in 2002.

AKDN and its partners launched Indigo Tajikistan in 2001 to help meet the demand for improved service and increased offerings in the country’s mobile services industry. Today, Indigo is the largest mobile operator in Tajikistan by revenue, with annual figures of close to US $50 million, and the second largest by subscriber base, with a 28 percent market share in 2007. The company provides coverage to over 90 percent of the country’s population and has set high standards for Tajik telecom companies for customer service and corporate business practices.

In tourism, the Network currently manages a Serena Inn in Khorog and is constructing a five-star Serena Hotel in Dushanbe, at an estimated project cost of US $40 million. Expected to be complete in 2009, the state of the art hotel will have 95 rooms and apartment suites. Through Serena properties, AKDN aims to facilitate Tajikistan’s efforts to become a more viable and friendly destination for visitors, ultimately translating into economic development and improved livelihoods.

Social Development

Education
The Aga Khan Lycée (AKL) in Khorog was established by the Network in 1998 as the first privately-operated school in the GBAO region. It provides 950 students from grades 1 to 11 with access to a professionally-trained teaching staff and offers education in three language streams: Tajik, Russian and English.

The Aga Khan Humanities Programme (AKHP), founded in 1997 and headquartered in Dushanbe, promotes pluralism in ideas, cultures and people through the development and implementation of innovative humanities curricula based on the cultural traditions of Central Asia. More than 20,000 students in Central Asia have successfully completed an AKHP course, and 46 faculty members have completed trainings in teaching methods in humanities.

When opened, the University of Central Asia campus in Khorog will offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programmes at an internationally recognized standard.The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded by an international treaty and charter in 2000 by the Governments of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan and His Highness the Aga Khan. It was established to offer an internationally recognized standard of higher education in Central Asia and create knowledgeable, skilled and creative graduates who will contribute leadership, ideas and innovations to the transitioning economies and communities of the region.

Operational since 2006, UCA’s School of Professional and Continuing Education is Central Asia’s first provider of formal, university-based, non-degree educational programmes and offers vocational, professional development and personal improvement opportunities to youth and adults with the mission of fostering economic development. Construction on a UCA campus in Khorog, one of three campuses to be built in Central Asia, is currently in process and is being designed for approximately 1000 students and 200 faculty members.

AKDN agencies also work with regional government institutions, such as the Institute for Professional Development, to introduce innovative teaching methods and build relevant education capacities. In 2006, activities in the sector focused on 105 schools impacting more than 15000 children as part of a “Whole School Improvement” programme whose efforts are expected to have fully reached all GBAO schools by 2011 and serve as a model for wider replication.
> Find out more on education in Tajikistan

Health
AKDN is working towards the sustained improvement in the health status of communities in Tajikistan, especially of children younger than five years of age and women of reproductive age, by working alongside the government to provide culturally appropriate and problem-oriented health education, disease prophylaxis, early detection, referrals and medical follow-up services.

AKDN initiatives in health care have included the training of over 500 Community Health Promoters across Tajikistan to educate and support communities on various health issues; the creation of a Revolving Drug Fund as part of a programme to sustainably provide quality and affordable pharmaceuticals to some of the most remote parts of the country; development of a national Nursing curriculum in partnership with the World Health Organization; and the rehabilitation of hospital and health infrastructure.

Rural Development
Through the Mountain Societies Development Program (MSDSP) of the Aga Khan Foundation, AKDN currently implements rural development projects in 17 districts of three regions of Tajikistan - GBAO, Rasht valley and Khatlon - with a target population of more than 730,000 people.

MSDSP facilitates the creation of Village Organisations (VOs) as the conduit for its programme activities, which it then supports with training, capacity building assistance and community development funds. To date, MSDSP has supported over 1,100 VOs with a total of over 130,000 village members, of which 47 percent are women.

MSDSP has also provided direct support to communities including cash and in-kind credit to more than 24,000 farmers for agricultural inputs; implemented more than 2,400 infrastructure projects; and facilitated the establishment of nearly 50 new enterprises across Tajikistan.

Financial Services
Microfinance in Tajikistan.The First MicroFinanceBank of Tajikistan (FMFB) was established in 2003 as the first fully licensed commercial bank in Tajikistan to have a principal focus on micro-credit lending. The Bank currently has branches in Dushanbe, Khorog, Garm, Khujand and Kulyab which are supported by a network of district offices. It is committed to facilitating savings and wealth accumulation as part of its poverty reduction initiatives through a wide offering of deposit and savings products.

As of February 2008, FMFB had a total loan portfolio of US $19.9 million and a client base of over 16,900 people, 31 percent of whom are female. Its loan repayment rate is over 99 percent.

Infrastructure
AKDN has invested US $1.7 million to build and rehabilitate four bridges over the Pyanj River at Tem, Darvaz, Langar, and Ishkashim, which now connect remote regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

On the Afghan side, the bridges have provided better food security, access to critical social services at Tajik hospitals and more efficient delivery channels for humanitarian aid. On the Tajik side, they are facilitating access to a wider variety of better priced goods transited by Afghan traders. These bridges are also facilitating the exchange of ideas and the strengthening of relations across the border, representing important steps towards fostering peace and stability in the region.

Disaster Management
Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS), an AKDN affiliate, implements a wide range of disaster prevention and response initiatives in local communities, including disaster preparedness trainings, vulnerability assessments, risk mitigation activities and disaster relief efforts.

Since its establishment in Tajikistan in 1997, FOCUS has responded to over 40 natural disasters and provided over US $500,000 in relief support to communities; its training, planning and disaster mitigation projects have reached over 100,000 beneficiaries.

Cultural Development

AKDN supports local music schools to transmit musical traditions to future generations while also promoting contemporary music groups such as The Badakhshan Ensemble with audiences abroad.AKDN supports the efforts of Central Asian musicians and communities to
sustain, preserve, develop and transmit onward musical traditions that are a vital part of their heritage. The Network supports ustâd-shâgird (master-student) centres in Tajikistan including the Academy of Maqâm in Dushanbe and the Khunar (“Talent”) Centre in Khujand. In collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, it has produced an internationally acclaimed series of Central Asian music recordings, including an album by the Academy of Maqâm that was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006.

Since 2003, the Network has been redesigning Khorog City Park into an area for the surrounding community and visitors to reflect relax and enjoy nature. The development of the park and its surrounding urban environment will create a significant public green space and represents a substantial step towards the revitalisation of the city as a whole.
> Find out more on Cultural Activities in Tajikistan