The way the world has mourned the passing of the Agha Khan IV, who passed away on February 4, 2025, at the age of 88 in Lisbon, Portugal shows that he was an impactful leader. Aga Khan IV, whose real name is Prince Karim Al-Hussaini Aga Khan IV, was the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, and made significant contributions to society. Aga Khan is the hereditary title for the spiritual leader of Nizari Ismaili Muslims, a Shia Islam sect known for their philanthropic efforts and global establishment of educational and medical organizations. He dedicated 67 years to improving the spiritual and material well-being of over 15 million Ismailis across 25 countries. The Aga Khan has taught us many lessons, but I chose to focus on two. One, he showed us the need for consistency and enhanced organization in order to achieve set goals and objectives in any endeavour. To show the need for enhanced planning and organization, the Aga Khan set up the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) consisting of a series of specialized 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. The key words here being identified needs of the developing countries which are central in addressing challenges holistically. AKDN is rooted in ethics, faith, and serves all the populations identified for support, without regard to gender, race or faith.
Secondly, the Aga Khan has shown us the multi-dimensional character of poverty alleviation. Left alone, poverty will provide a context for special interests to pursue their goals in aggressive terms, while humanitarian assistance is indispensable, it should be conceived as part of a long-term strategy of helping the recipient community and people develop their own resources. Through Aga Khan work, it has been proven that any notion of poverty alleviation must begin with an in-depth analysis of the multiple causes that require responses. Through Aga Khan, it has been proven that micro responses are often fragile and short-lived; and as such, responses must achieve certain scale to achieve longevity. It has been demonstrated that these responses should be simultaneous rather than sequential. This is the reason much of AKDN’s work is built around the concept of MIAD (Multi-Input Area Development), which stems from the realization that development initiatives cannot be contemplated exclusively in terms of economics, but rather as an integrated programme that encompasses variables such as education and skills training, health and public services, conservation of cultural heritage, infrastructure development, urban planning and rehabilitation, water and energy management, environmental control, and even policy and legislative development. Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 