Excerpt: Providing expectant mothers and newborns the highest quality of care, and giving children the best start in life is part of a value system that Ismaili Muslims have practiced for generations.During the 19th century, Mawlana Sultan Mahomed Shah, the 48th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismailis, guided his community towards a modern approach to healthcare. In India and East Africa he established dispensaries, clinics and hospitals, ensured that they were well equipped and well staffed, and encouraged the community to make use of them.Ismailis like Sewa Hajji Paroo and Varas Sir Tharia Topan followed the Imam’s example, commissioning community hospitals and dispensaries in places like Bagamoyo in present-day Tanzania and Zanzibar. In later decades, many of these facilities would be further upgraded and consolidated within the Aga Khan Health Services.
More The Ismaili: Together with Canadians, Ismailis making a difference for mothers and children.
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