Founded by His Highness the Aga Khan and chartered in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university, Aga Khan University's (AKU) objective is to promote human welfare in general, and the welfare of the people of Pakistan in particular, by disseminating knowledge and providing instruction, training, research and service in the health sciences, education and such other branches of learning as the University may determine. AKU is an international University spread over eight countries – Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Afghanistan, Syria and Egypt.