Discover DSW
We are committed to achieving our vision of a healthy and sustainable world in which all young people, especially girls and young women, can fully realise their true potential. Central to our mission is championing young people’s access to youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services, realising Africa’s demographic dividend through a rights-based approach. Covid-19 has taught us that a healthy and sustainable world also requires investing in global health innovations to fight current and future epidemics that impact particularly young people.
WHAT WE'RE WORKING FOR
DSW has a mission to support young people living in Africa to overcome the multiple obstacles that stand in their way – in particular issues to do with SRHR, such as gender-based discrimination and coercive practices, and infectious diseases, which disproportionately affect young women and girls. Access to the right health tools and services is key to overcoming these obstacles.
HOW WE WORK
We work hand-in-hand with young people empowering them as actors of change, promote an enabling environment for their self-fulfilment, and foster meaningful and inclusive youth participation in the decisions that affect their lives. We advocate at local, national, and international political levels, including at EU level, to advance SRHR and global health policies wherever we can.
WHO WE WORK FOR
For over 25 years DSW has worked with young people in ensuring access to SRHR information, services, and supplies; supporting community outreach focused on developing peer education, life skills, leadership, advocacy, and economic empowerment.
WANT TO KNOW MORE
LATEST NEWS
DSW Ethiopia Advocates for SRHR & Gender Policies
Two important policy advocacy workshops were held by DSW Ethiopia in Bahir Dar and Jimma towns recently. The main aim of these advocacy platforms w...
Fighting contraception myths promotes women’s bodily autonomy
Kenya has made steady progress towards increased family planning uptake. The number of women using modern contraception has increased from 4.04 mil...
Get ready for EWAG 2022!
Every year, a coalition of European NGOs come together as part of the European Week of Action for Girls (EWAG) to amplify girls’ voices and cal...
DSW Kenya Annual Report 2021: Empowering Young People
As DSW Kenya, we are proud to be the to-go-to organisation when it comes to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) programming for young ...
DSW Ethiopia Debuts Youth-Friendly SRH Service Provision
On 31 August 2022, DSW Ethiopia opened its second of six youth-friendly clinics (YFC), with the aim of providing services in the area of sexual and...
Donor visit to “Healthy Youth at Work” Project
For the first time in many months since the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, a field visit of the Healthy Youth at Work (HY@W) project funded by the Davi...
Kenya: Youths do not live in a vacuum; they need support from all of us
It is not uncommon to hear that young people have been told they are either too young or too immature to handle some things. Phrases such as ‘you...
Tour of Projects Sees off a Series of Commemoration Events for DSW’s 30th Anniversary in Ethiopia
Jan Kreutzberg, DSW’s executive director, travelled to Ethiopia recently to visit some of DSW’s projects there. Mr. Kreutzberg’s visit co...
Breaking the cycle of teen pregnancies with youth-friendly centres
Addressing gaps in implementing contraceptive services that target young people, experts say, will help prevent unintended and lead to cost savings...
How perceptions lock women with disabilities out of family planning
They face barriers when seeking reproductive health services, such as limitations in transportation, income and inaccessible care facilities, and s...
We want to ensure that every young person has the power to realise their own future.
By advancing access to and demand for SRHR, we are making this happen.
