Aga Khan due in the country tomorrow

Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is expected in the country on Wednesday October 11 for a two-day official visit.

The visit follows an invitation which was extended by President John Magufuli.

The Aga Khan who is the Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Imam Ismaili Muslims is in the country on his second leg of his East Africa Tour.

According to a statement issued by the Aga Khan Development Network he is expected to land at the Julius Nyerere International Airport around 10.30 am and received by Minister of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Dr Augustine Mahiga.

The visit is part of a series of visits that coincide with the commemoration of the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee which marks 60 years as the spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslim community.

Jubilees in the Shia Ismaili Muslim tradition have traditionally served as opportunities to launch or advance social, cultural and economic development projects

“These include hospitals, schools, universities and financial institutions that serve people of all backgrounds and faiths,” read the statement.

Aga Khan is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) a global network dedicated to improving the quality of life of all.

It has made substantive contributions all over the world, including in Tanzania where it has a longstanding history.

The AKDN’s institutions are among Tanzania’s largest socio-economic agencies and impact the lives of all Tanzanians. Some of these examples include the Aga Khan

Foundation’s endeavours to increase income opportunities for over 100,000 smallholder farmers and over 9,200 community-based savings groups in Southern Tanzania.

“The Aga Khan health services has the country’s top state-of- the-art hospital in Dar es Salaam, as well as five primary medical centres and 8 outreach centres across the country that have provided increased access to health for communities in rural and urban areas,” read further the statement.

The Aga Khan University, through the Graduate School of Nursing and Midwifery and the Institution of Educational Development, has awarded over 250 Master’s Degrees and educated over 3,000 trainers in Tanzania.

In Zanzibar, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture restored the seafront Forodhani Park and engaged in conservation planning for the Old Dispensary, amongst others, as AKDN promotes culture as a ‘trampoline for change’ for development.

The Aga Khan arrived from Kampala where he attended the Independence Day celebration upon the invitation of the Excellency President Yoweri Museveni and was decorated with the highest civilian Ugandan order, The Most Excellent Order of the Pearl of Africa, The Grand Master, for his humanitarian efforts.

While in Dar es Salaam, the Aga Khan will also meet members of his community.