DSW Ethiopia, DSW’s first country office in Eastern Africa, was established in 2000 and legally registered the following year. Its work has evolved from supporting youth-focused local organisations through grants to directly implementing programmes nationwide. While sexual and reproductive health (SRH) remains its core focus, DSW Ethiopia has broadened its work to include livelihoods, nutrition, population–health–environment (PHE), advocacy, and peacebuilding. Among its longest-running initiatives is the Fight Fistula project, which supports prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and reintegration through gender-responsive approaches.

Over time, DSW Ethiopia has expanded both geographically and demographically. Its programmes reach in-school and out-of-school adolescents, workplace youth, and participants in empowerment centres. Married adolescent girls benefit from support to delay first births using long-acting family planning methods, along with economic empowerment opportunities. A key innovation—the Youth-to-Youth (Y2Y) model—has strengthened the skills, confidence, and community engagement of young people across the country.

Many youth-led and youth-focused organisations have adopted the Y2Y model as a framework for empowerment. The approach has inspired the creation of more than two dozen home-grown NGOs and was further strengthened by DSW Ethiopia’s establishment of the first NGO-led youth development training centre in 2004. The centre now serves as a platform for research, good-practice demonstration, and capacity development.

Nationally endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Health, DSW Ethiopia’s Adolescents and Youth Sexual and Reproductive Health (AYSRH) Manual is widely used by youth organisations, SRH-focused NGOs, and public institutions. As its project portfolio has grown, so has the organisation’s professional diversity and capacity.

The integration of additional thematic areas has allowed DSW Ethiopia to expand into health service provision, including the establishment of eight model youth-friendly clinics. The organisation also partners with 22 youth empowerment centres and nearly 150 grassroots youth groups. Youth Peace Champions promote peace and social cohesion, while Female Coffee for Peace Groups work to prevent sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and advance gender equality. DSW Ethiopia now operates in seven regions, continually adapting its structures to emerging needs.

As the sector moves towards consortium-based implementation, DSW Ethiopia has strengthened its collaborative approach, forming partnerships with Karl Kübel Stiftung (KKS), Marie Stopes International (MSI Ethiopia), the Population–Health–Environment Consortium Ethiopia, and SOS Children’s Villages. These alliances enhance programme reach, deepen expertise, and support more integrated, sustainable outcomes.