From 2016 to 2021 the Aga Khan Foundation, in collaboration with local governments and communities and with the financial support of Global Affairs Canada, undertook a project dedicated to improving the health and well-being of women and children under five in Kenya, Mali, Mozambique and Pakistan. The US$ 24 million project – Access to Quality Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS) – reached 1.7 million people, 60 percent of them women and girls.

Some key results:

• +400,000 women and girls gained access to comprehensive reproductive health services, including skilled health workers present during childbirth.
• +3,400 healthcare workers increased their skills and knowledge — 80 percent of them women.
• +60 health facilities delivering higher quality, more gender-responsive care.
• Twice as many children under five receiving essential health services, including key vaccinations.
• +80,000 men reached with messaging about their role as partners and parents in improving reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health.

This video was filmed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.