Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW)

DSW is a Germany-based international development foundation focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and sustainable population development.

 It was founded in Hannover in 1991 by Erhard Schreiber and Dirk Roßmann to help realize the human right to family planning, recognizing that many women and girls were having more children than they wanted. From the outset, DSW placed young people at the center of its mission. Today, DSW empowers adolescents and young adults, especially girls and young women, in East Africa to make informed, self-determined choices about their bodies and futures. The foundation does this by expanding youth-friendly health services, strengthening comprehensive sexuality education, and improving access to modern contraception so young people can decide if, when, and with whom to have children.

DSW works where the needs are greatest: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Through youth clubs and Youth Empowerment Centres, peer educators and Youth Champions deliver “by youth, for youth” counselling, life-skills, and advocacy—often in partnership with local health facilities. This networked model has been built up over decades to reach young people in both urban and hard-to-reach areas.

Alongside community programmes, DSW engages in policy advocacy in Germany, the EU (via its Brussels office), and across East Africa—championing SRHR, gender equality, and investments in global health (including research and innovation on poverty-related and neglected diseases). Headquarters are in Hannover, with liaison offices in Berlin and Brussels. 

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Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) News