AIF celebrates 15 years of disrupting poverty and catalyzing social and economic change in India

The American India Foundation (AIF) celebrated 15 Years of building bridges between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development on October 3.

The event was hosted by Ajay Banga, Co-Chair of AIF and CEO of MasterCard, whose highlight was a photo-exhibition showcasing the best of AIF's work over the last 15 years through field photographs which was documented by Prashant Panjiar, India's leading photographer.

Also present on the function were Alex Counts, AIF President and CEO and AIF Country Director Nishant Pandey.

Speaking on the occasion, Banga said "AIF's verticals of education, livelihoods, leadership & health, have developed very quickly to become models that proof of concept can be taken to scale with the involvement of state governments, local corporates and partner NGOs. These programs have impacted over 3.7 million lives of India's poor and we hope they will serve to inspire others to take up the cause of disrupting poverty in India."

AIF has evolved to be more than a philanthropic organization over the last 15 years by engaging with a staggering range of stakeholders from young Americans and leading philanthropists to grassroots NGOs and government agencies.

It has become a social ecosystem designed upon principles of trust, transparency, and partnership, bringing people from all walks of life together in a movement to better whole communities and transform India into a more open, equitable, and vibrant democracy.

In order to meet India's long-term development challenges, AIF has' realized the need to be responsive, open, and adaptable to rapidly changing needs on the ground and listen closely to the voices that often go unheard.

AIF's programs in Education, Livelihoods, Public Health, and Leadership Development are designed to have an emphasis on inclusive models that focus on the unique needs of girls and women to achieve gender equity as a basis for sustainable change.