AKDN in Kenya

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AKDN and its institutional predecessors have been active in Kenya for nearly a century. Many AKDN institutions began as voluntary organisations but grew into strong institutions - the Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) and the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS), among them - that opened their doors to all East Africans and went on to make important contributions to the development of the nation. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) has also made key investments in Kenyan industry and infrastructure, including electricity generation, agriculture, media and tourism. In coming years, the Aga Khan University (AKU) will expand its activities in health care and the professional education of doctors, nurses and teachers.

A milestone in the work of the AKDN in East Africa was the Enabling Environment Conference in Nairobi in 1986. This Conference was in many ways a watershed in donor/government relationships in Africa. It highlighted the crucial and complex relationships between civil society and development, between effective legislation and individual enterprise and between macro-economic policies and growth. It came at a time when structural adjustment programmes were calling for somewhat simplistic macro-economic measures and helped to highlight the complexities of development issues in Africa. The conference also provided impetus to a shift in strategy for East Africa. By the early 1990s, a marked emphasis on strengthening civil society began to emerge.

The Conference had an important impact on the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) which had been active in Kenya since 1974, working in health, education, rural development, civil society enhancement and the environment (in 1996, the Foundation’s branches in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda merged under a common regional management and governance structure).

Today, several AKDN agencies contribute to Kenya’s development. AKES provide 10,000 children with education. AKHS serves over 460,000 patients every year in medical institutions throughout the region. AKF works to improve the quality of life in resource-poor coastal areas. The Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa is the first of an international network of schools dedicated to excellence in education. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED), which has made bold but calculated investments in economic projects ranging from power generation to agri-businesses, operates some of Africa’s most successful companies, including many listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. It also provides employment to tens of thousands of Kenyans.