On a visit to an AKDN rural support programme in the mid-1980s, His Highness the Aga Khan saw that, contrary to prevailing thinking that suggested rising incomes alone would solve poverty, there was a need to bring a variety of inputs and disciplines to bear in a given area.
Income disparity was only one aspect of poverty. Other forms could be just as damaging: a lack of access to adequate nutrition or to a quality education, the inability to mitigate the effects of disasters, the unsustainable use of natural resources, or an absence of effective civil society organisations.
The Aga Khan saw that the development programme – then focusing on natural resource management and small infrastructure projects – should eventually expand into health and education, but he also saw a need for micro-insurance, environmental projects, seismic-resistant home construction, village planning and the restoration of cultural monuments.