{"id":79114,"date":"2021-09-14T00:34:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T19:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pamirtimes.net\/?p=79114"},"modified":"2021-09-14T00:34:20","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T19:34:20","slug":"aga-khan-development-network-urges-international-community-not-to-abandon-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pamirtimes.net\/en\/2021\/09\/14\/aga-khan-development-network-urges-international-community-not-to-abandon-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Aga Khan Development Network urges International Community not to abandon Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNow is the time to be present, remain in dialogue\u00a0and work together with communities towards peace, cohesion, opportunity and prosperity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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GENEVA: (PR) <\/strong>The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) today urged the international community to remain engaged and to act, with compassion and foresight, to address dire humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

In a statement delivered by Michael Kocher, General Manager of the Aga Khan Foundation, at the invitation of United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u00a0at the High-level Ministerial Meeting on the Humanitarian Situation in Afghanistan, the AKDN affirmed that its commitment to the people of Afghanistan remains unshaken.<\/p>\n

The agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network have worked at the community level for more than three decades to support and help the Afghan people realise their aspirations for a better life.<\/p>\n

With its 10,000 Afghan staff, across numerous provinces, the AKDN in partnership provides: life-saving treatment and healthcare for millions; education for hundreds of thousands of girls and boys; rural infrastructure such as energy provision, roads, bridges, and irrigation canals; economic opportunity and support for family incomes; natural disaster and climate change resilience; connectivity and communications;\u00a0professional training and continuing education for women and men; and restoration of cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work is ongoing,\u201d\u00a0 Kocher said. \u201cExperience teaches us that determined, transparent and inclusive engagement \u2013 led and driven by Afghans in their communities \u2013 can and does take root and succeed. And bring real and lasting change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not \u00a0turn away from decades of progress,\u201d stated Kocher. \u201cOr the two-thirds of Afghans under the age of 25, that have lived under the shadow of war \u2013 but with hopes and aspirations intact. We owe them dignity \u2013 the promise \u2013 of standing together in facing the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kocher called upon the international community not to abandon Afghanistan\u2019s longer-term development given the profound consequences of doing so. \u00a0\u201cConditions are dire,\u201d he emphasised. \u00a0\u201cHealthcare, education, food security and the \u00a0economy are under profound strain \u2013 at risk of collapse,\u201d he urged, emphasising that the following immediate and corresponding measures need to be taken quickly if Afghanistan is to avert a prolonged crisis of shocking, destabilising proportions:<\/p>\n