Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph

His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), today 30th January 2008 met with Mr. Haruhiko Kuroda, President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), for discussions on joint collaboration between the ADB and AKDN. The meeting preceded the signing of an agreement aimed at expanding the partnership between the two institutions.

“A strengthened partnership between ADB and the Aga Khan Development Network provides an effective channel for supporting inclusive development in the region, especially for the benefit of the poorest and most vulnerable people in society,” said Mr. Kuroda.

The Aga Khan’s younger brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, who signed the agreement on the Aga Khan’s behalf, thanked the ADB for its long-standing cooperation and lauded the Bank’s efforts to adopt a new long-term strategy this year in the face of growing challenges and opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prince Amyn Aga Khan expressed confidence that the agreement will enable an intensification of the collaboration between the two institutions, thereby helping to transform the lives of many.

He added that the agreement is “an expression of our shared commitment to ensure that marginalized and impoverished areas of South and Central Asia receive the attention and support needed to alleviate poverty and to create stability in cross border areas, by connecting isolated communities, developing markets, incomes, and employment, and fostering an enabling environment.”

The joint ADB/AKDN agreement stresses the need “to find ways to undertake investments to connect the poor to the opportunities of growth and to connect services to the poor emanating from national and regional growth benefits.”

The ADB and the AKDN collaborate across multiple sectors in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, India, and Pakistan. The agreement signed today reinforces the need for cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, economic development, and human capacity building. It expresses the joint commitment of both institutions to local and regional ownership of development policies and programmes, long-term approaches to sustainable development, and investments which connect the poor to growth opportunities. Amongst the new areas for potential partnership are investments in higher education, including with the Aga Khan University and the University of Central Asia.

Notes:

ADB, a major development institution in the Asia and Pacific region, seeks to foster economic growth, good governance, human resource development, and the reduction of poverty for the benefit of its developing member countries.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network’s nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN’s underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social development is in excess of US$300million.

For more information please contact:

Jason Rush
Media Relations
Asian Development Bank
Tel: (632) 632-4444
www.adb.org

Aly Nazerali
European Representative and CEO
AKDN
3 Cromwell Gardens
London SW7 2HB
Tel: +442075916800
E-mail: aly.nazerali@akdn.org

www.ismaili.us

International Magazine for Collections, Apollo has declared Aga Khan as The International Personality of The Year.

Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph, is the 49th direct lineal descendant of Prophet Muhammad through his cousin and son-in-law, Aly, the first Imam-Caliph, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter. Aga Khan is the rope of love, wisdom and unity among interpretations of the Faith, and also bridge of confidence between West and Muslims. This year, the world is celebrating Golden Jubilee of the Imamat Caliphate of His Highness the Aga Khan.

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For a child suffering from hunger, going to school is not important; having enough food to eat is. Among the poor, there is often not enough food at home, and most schools in developing countries do not have canteens or cafeterias. On empty stomachs, children become easily distracted and have problems concentrating on their lessons. The promise of at least one nutritious meal each day attracts children to school, boosts enrolment, promotes regular attendance, and enhances student performance. In the poorest pockets of the world, these simple strategies can double primary school enrolment in one year.  

WFP
School feeding programmes work to achieving several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The programme directly address the goals of reducing hunger by half and achieving universal primary education by 2015, and of achieving gender parity in education by 2005. School feeding also contributes over the long term to the reduction of disease and poverty. It provides a platform for directly addressing child health and nutrition, environmental education, and HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention.WFP works hand-in-hand with national governments, sister international agencies and others to increase commitment to education and coordinate the provision of a broad range of interventions necessary to make this commitment real. In 2000, building on almost 40 years of experience, WFP launched a global school feeding campaign aimed at encouraging governments throughout the world to put in place national school feeding programme that would provide nutritious food to all children who need it. In 2001, funds provided by the US Global Food for Education Initiative (GFEI) helped WFP launch a global campaign to expand and improve access to education for millions more poor children. The aim is to put school feeding on the international agenda while increasing funding from donors and strengthening partnerships with governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).In June and July 2002, the Group of Eight industrialized nations (G8) and the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) recognized the importance of school feeding by listing it as a specific intervention in their action plans. In 1999, 11.9 million children in 52 countries were beneficiaries of WFP school feeding activities. In 2000,

WFP
School feeding programme reached 12.3 million schoolchildren in 54 countries.In 2001, there were just over 15 million beneficiaries in 57 countries.In 2002, WFP reached 15.6 million schoolchildren in 64 countries.In 2003, beneficiary numbers increased in most of the 69 countries receiving WFP school feeding assistance, but the overall number of beneficiaries dropped to 15.2 million.This was mostly because of resource shortfalls for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and changes in accounting for beneficiaries in
India.In 2004, the upward trend continued with WFP providing free school meals to 16.6 million children in 72 countries.

And in 2005, 21.7 million children in 74 countries received WFP school meals.

Notes:
Fatimid Heritage Foundation (The FATIMID) works for the preservation and promotion of interfaith harmony and global pluralism. The FATIMID leverages heritage and ICT as means to support and catalyze educational development and humanitarian assistance to promote a more secure, equitable and prosperous world in accordance with the vision of His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph.
Mountain Girls Education Development Program (MGEDP) is an agency of Fatimid Heritage Foundation.

The Administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Karen P. Tandy described Pakistan as “a success story in the global war on drugs” and observed that Pakistan is “America’s vital ally on anti-drug efforts.”

“The U.S. DEA and Pakistan stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and we are proud of our friendship with Pakistani law enforcement,” she told a gathering of anti-narcotics and law enforcement officials here. “We are eager to build on our outstanding friendship with Pakistan and Pakistani law enforcement for the good of both of our nations.”

In introducing the DEA Administrator, the American Ambassador, Anne W. Patterson, noted that in her previous posting as Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, she worked closely with Administrator Tandy.

“I saw first-hand the outstanding work of the DEA under her leadership,” the U.S. Ambassador remarked. “Within the United States and around the world, the DEA has a strong record of success in dismantling drug trafficking organizations and bringing drug traffickers to justice.”

The DEA Administrator said that, according to UN estimates, the world drug trade generates 320 billion U.S. dollars and is the “single most profitable sector of transnational criminality.”

“To address this global drug threat, DEA works with enforcement agencies worldwide. In fact, we have a larger international presence than any other U.S. federal law enforcement agency,” DEA’s Tandy added.

Explaining the “sinister connection between drugs and terrorism,” Ms. Tandy said that the “monster of the Afghan opium trade” threatens not only Pakistan but the entire world.

“I have just come from Afghanistan, and I can tell you that we are having success in the vital attack on the Afghan opium trade,” the U.S. DEA Administrator added. “Together with our Afghan counterparts and Coalition forces, we are successfully identifying, disrupting, and dismantling high-level Afghan trafficking organizations, their leaders, their infrastructure, and their illicit assets.”

Assuring U.S. support to Pakistan in counter-narcotics efforts, she noted that “like the United States, Pakistan has been hard-hit by the problem of drug abuse.”

“We are here to work with you to keep the opium threat from flooding your nation with the misery of addiction, and to eliminate the very real threat of drug-funded terrorism,” she concluded.

Notes:
Fatimid Heritage Foundation (The FHF) works for the preservation and promotion of interfaith harmony and global pluralism. The FHF leverages heritage and ICT as means to support and catalyze educational development and humanitarian assistance to promote a more secure, equitable and prosperous world in accordance with the vision of His Highness Aga Khan Fatimid Imam Caliph.

Mountain Girls Education Development Program (MGEDP) is an agencies of Fatimid Heritage Foundation.