What We Do

Nearly half of the world’s population — more than 3.5 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 700 million people live in extreme poverty (less than USD $1.90 a day), the majority of whom are in Africa and Asia.

Aga Khan Foundation Canada tackles the root causes of this poverty through a holistic and interconnected set of programs. These initiatives address people’s most pressing needs and enable them to unlock their full potential, with a particular focus on marginalized groups like women and girls.

Our programs aim to ensure access to high-quality education and health care, ensure food security, improve economic well-being, and develop resilient communities and societies. We bring together human, financial, and technical resources to some of the poorest and most marginalized communities, with an emphasis on women and girls, investing in human potential, expanding opportunity, and improving quality of life.

A seat at the table: Women leaders driving inclusive change in India

Women’s equal participation and leadership in political and public life are essential to building a sustainable and inclusive world. Yet

Food for thought: How a school garden is helping students learn and thrive

Globally, 273 million children and youth are out of school due to factors like conflict, poverty, and sociocultural norms. In

Walking the distance: Meet Gulzat

Gulzat is a nurse in Jerge-Tal, a rural village in the Naryn region of the Kyrgyz Republic. Though resources remain

Onwards, upwards: Meet women reshaping local governance in rural India

Across rural India, the face of local governance is shifting. For generations, women have been the backbone of families and

A space to thrive: Adolescent-friendly safe spaces in Pakistan

Adolescence — spanning puberty to adulthood — is one of the most dynamic periods of human development and growth, second

From Saint John, With Love: The New Brunswick Teen Using Empathy to Challenge Inequality

Ella Cusack has a superpower, but it’s not the type you’d see in a Marvel film. By Caro Rolando  “I’ve always been quite shy,”

Tools for Change: How educators across Canada are inspiring a generation of global citizens

From Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, global citizenship education is breaking new ground across the country  By Jacky Habib  Every

Where everyone sits in a circle: The Edmonton school giving youth a second chance

By Jacky Habib Three times a day — morning, midday, and late afternoon — the whole of Edmonton’s Inner City

Dispatch from the Fellows: From a Bazaar in Vahdat to the Boardrooms of Central Asia

“My first memory of entrepreneurship is my father’s shop in an open bazaar in Vahdat, Tajikistan. I was maybe eight