GILGIT: The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has provided a range of services in Pakistan for over a century, aiming to improve the overall quality of life in the regions where it works. Initiatives are designed to complement the efforts of the Government of Pakistan, particularly in the remote and mountainous northern regions where communities face significant challenges.
During her six-day visit last week, Princess Zahra Aga Khan, accompanied by her son, MrIliyan Boyden, reviewed many of these projects. The first Aga Khan School in Pakistan was founded in 1905 in Gwadar, Balochistan. Today, nearly 150 Aga Khan schools in the north educate 40,000 students, with almost half being female.
Princess Zahra visited several schools in remote areas, and hostels that have been established nearby to enable children to attend these schools.
She inaugurated the Aga Khan Hostel in Sherqilla, designed to support girls who attend the adjacent Aga Khan Higher Secondary School. More than 100 students from the valleys around Gilgit-Baltistan will live in this safe, nurturing and academically engaging residence – able to immerse themselves in school life without facing long commutes.
His Highness the Aga Khan has said that “In terms of human resource development, investing in teacher training has the potential for greater returns than any other social sector initiative.”
Princess Zahra visited the Professional Development Centre, North – part of the Aga Khan University and the first of its kind development hub for teachers, teacher-educators, education administrators and managers in the region. The Centre has trained 21,000 participants to date.
To ensure access to affordable, world-class diagnostics and treatment in these rugged valleys, AKDN operates over 60 health centres in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, serving over 750,000 people.During her visit, Princess Zahra visited several of these facilities and inaugurated the purpose-built Aga Khan Health Centre in Aliabad.
The new centre is a major step forward in the region’s infrastructure, bringing timely and effective medical services closer to the communities. It is equipped with digital-health services, an accident and emergency department, a high-dependency unit, and comprehensive obstetric and neonatal services. The building also houses residence facilities for doctors and nurses.
As part of the hub-and-spokes model that the Aga Khan Health Services has adopted in Pakistan, Aliabad will serve as a sub-hub for nine basic health centres and itself refer patients to the Aga Khan Hospital in Gilgit as necessary.
The region is vulnerable to disasters such as floods and avalanches, and the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) has been providing early warning systems, emergency response training for 35,000 men and women, protective infrastructure and supply stockpiles. Princess Zahra attended a simulation exercise in Immit village to observe how community members have been trained to respond to such emergencies. She also visited the AKAH Emergency Response Centre in Chitral.
