Challenges faced by women and children in the isolated, high mountain terrain of Chitral in Northern Pakistan are incredibly overwhelming. With limited access to health care services, especially skilled birth attendants, mothers and children face tremendous odds during pregnancy and child birth. The absence of skilled birth attendants has dire consequences: some 77 infants out of every 1,000 die at birth. Alarmingly, about 4 out of every 100 mothers die during childbirth.

Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) began a program to train local women as community midwives. Through the Chitral Child Survival Program, young women spent 18 months in classroom and practical training in midwifery at the nursing school in Chitral town.

In June 2011, the first class of 28 community midwives graduated from the program and received their midwifery licenses from the government. Officials from as far away as Islamabad traveled to Chitral by plane, car (10-hour drive) and foot to offer their enthusiastic support. The program is viewed as a model, with the Pakistan government interested in learning more about its success and potential as a pilot for other districts.

The ceremony to introduce the community midwives was overwhelming for many of the young women. As Nahida noted, "I was so nervous. I've never been the center of attention like this before." But as the ceremony started and the new midwives saw the support from government, health and community leaders, they became more comfortable and realized the valuable role they had before them. Nahida, who was so nervous that she could not speak at the beginning, was laughing and mingling with guests by day's end.

As observed by Dr. Ali Shah, program officer for the Chitral Child Survival Program, "The ceremony was very good for the young women. They saw that the government was behind them, that AKDN was behind them, and that there was so much support for them."

The midwives began their new position by going back to their village to serve their own communities by providing better health care. AKDN helped to smooth the transition by organizing a community gathering in each village where the midwives were introduced by well-known representatives from the local health committee, district government officials and Aga Khan Health Services. The midwives met with mothers and children that would become their patients.

As licensed professionals, the midwives charge patients for their services, determined by consensus of the village health committees. In rural Northern Pakistan where jobs for women are rare, becoming more self-reliant brings pride to the women and their families.

Having well-trained midwives ready to appear on the doorstep of expectant and new mothers is a huge benefit to the entire community.

Chitral Child Survival Program is an initiative of the Aga Khan Foundation and the Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan (AKHS,P) and made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) has received much attention lately for its expanding work in the East Africa Community (EAC). Recently, His Highness the Aga Khan, founder and chairman of AKDN, visited with several prominent national officials in East Africa to launch discussions on future AKDN projects that support the region's development.

Below are a few projects that you may have seen in the news:

The opening of the Heart and Cancer Center at Aga Khan University (AKU) Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. The facility brings international standards of patient care and cardiology and oncology treatment to Kenya, positioning the University Hospital as a hub in an integrated AKDN health system in East Africa. President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and His Highness the Aga Khan attended the inaugural event. More here.

The foundation ceremony of AKU's Graduate School of Media and Communications in Nairobi, Kenya. The school is dedicated to educating media leaders -- and fostering media institutions -- who will advance the highest standards of competence, ethics, professionalism and social responsibility in their industry. More here.

His Highness the Aga Khan and Ambassador Dr. Richard Sezibera, the Secretary General of the East Africa Community at its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. The two discussed AKDN's continued contribution to fostering EAC regionalism and AKU's upcoming university campus in Arusha. More here. 

The Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution recently released the Global Compact on Learning report. The report emphasizes quality education that goes beyond access for all.

This shifts the current focus of education beyond achieving universal access to education, as represented in Millennium Development Goal 2 to Achieve Universal Primary Education. Specifically, the report: "Provides a framework for action that can spur attention and bring together the many diverse actors committed to improving education in poor countries."

Research and support for the report came from more than 25 development organizations, including Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). 

Successful development is impossible without ensuring high-quality education opportunities for the world's youth, and A Global Compact aligns well with AKF's development priorities in education. The report promotes a new international focus on access to quality education and learning opportunities for early childhood development programs, especially girls and the most marginalized communities in remote areas of the globe.

AKF's large education projects in East Africa, such as Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya, work to develop quality educational opportunities for all students, while also focusing on literacy, providing improved teacher training and using the "whole school" approach that engages community members, teachers, parents, government officials and children.

Read the full report from the Brookings Institute's Center for Universal Education here.

Recently, Sanam Vazir completed her nine-month Professional Development Internship with AKF USA. Sanam assisted the Finance Department with day-to-day tasks, while learning and experiencing its internal processes.

A 2010 graduate of the University of Florida in Public Accounting and International Development, Sanam always saw herself working for a non-profit in financial management. Engaged in various duties of the Finance Department, Sanam notes, "I especially enjoyed grants management, as it was rewarding to see numbers and figures translate into such profound change for some of the world's most disadvantaged populations."

"Working and learning from top management has also given me the opportunity that so many young professionals are not able to receive through their internships," said Sanam. Sanam learned from her internship that a list of goals can take a person quite far. "It was not until I shared my action plan and goals I hoped to achieve during my internship with my team members, that I started to receive projects that I was truly interested in, and ones that I could whole-heartedly contribute to given my experience and background."

Sanam has stayed on full-time with the Finance team, and started as AKF USA's accounting associate in June 2011.