MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Aga Khan Foundation and First Microfinance Institution (FMFI) Use Microfinance To Alleviate Drought Related Poverty in Syria

Farmers and herders in Syria are being targeted with microfinance in an effort to relieve drought-related poverty.

The Aga Khan Foundation, a development organization based in Switzerland, is working with its subsidiary, the First Microfinance Institution (FMFI), to provide loans to farmers to adopt modernized drip irrigation systems which use water more efficiently.

According to the UN, over 1.3 million people in Syria have been affected by the drought which started in 2006. Last month UN Special Rapporteur Oliver de Schutter said 2 million to 3 million people had been pushed into extreme poverty in Syria, with many thousands having left the rural northeast region for the cities, with no source of income.

41,500 out of a potential one million microfinance recipients were reached in 2008, according to a study by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a Washington-based policy and research center.

By Witt Gatchell, Research Associate

About the Aga Khan Foundation:
The Aga Khan Foundation is non-governmental development organization (NGO) founded in 1967 by Aga Khan IV. The Foundation aims to develop and promote creative solutions to problems that impede social development, primarily in Asia and East Africa. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] IRIN: “SYRIA: Microfinance to combat drought”
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=90677

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Aga Khan Foundation
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Aga…

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