Empowering young women with HIV

More than five percent of girls and women in Kenya are living with HIV. Among men, the figure is only 2.6 percent. Women most often contract HIV during adolescence, for example because they lack sufficient information or have unprotected sex. While living with HIV, they are often excluded from their communities. When they then have a child, they face multiple discrimination. This project empowers these young women and helps them to build a future for themselves and their children.

Young mothers living with HIV often encounter particular difficulties in caring for themselves and their child. To counteract this, DSW organises dialogue events in this project to raise awareness about the stigma of “living with HIV”. In addition, affected mothers get access to anti-retroviral therapy and other important health services from the public health system and learn the basics of a healthy lifestyle, e.g. healthy nutrition. Last but not least, they are supported to participate in political and social decision-making processes.

Miriam Riechers

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Training adolescent mothers in personal empowerment and life skills, healthy eating and food safety.

Strengthening access to health facilities and supporting referral systems.

Conducting dialogue events on prejudices against mothers living with HIV and their children. The dialogues are led by so-called “cultural ambassadors” and “teen change agents”.

Supporting mothers to participate in political decision-making processes at community, district, county and national level.

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Plannable support for young people

Prospects for young people – TeamUp in Uganda

Half of Uganda’s population is younger than 15. Around 80 percent of all young people in the East African country are unemployed and lack future prospects. TeamUp supports young people in Uganda in improving their lives, freeing themselves from poverty and building a self-determined future for themselves step by step.

TeamUp Uganda is a programme in which DSW, hand in hand with two other German foundations, shows young people from the districts of Mityana and Kasanda in central Uganda new perspectives on life. Each participating organisation and its local partner contribute with their respective core competence: Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) with topics related to sexual and reproductive health, Siemens Stiftung with hygiene measures and the maintenance of water sources, and Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung with training measures in agriculture and business management. TeamUp Uganda therefore responds to the needs of the youth with a holistic concept. The aim is to empower youth with a regular income, access to clean drinking water and access to family planning. 290,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 30 live in Mityana and Kasanda and will be given the chance to improve their living conditions in the long term.

Miriam Riechers

Key activities

Establishment and strengthening of 90 youth clubs and 12 youth empowerment centres.

Training and support for 24 youth activists working on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

Training a total of 240 young people (youth counselors and members of youth empowerment centres) in SRHR and menstrual hygiene.

Establishment of a pilot approach to accessing modern contraceptives (mobile nurses) for adolescents.

Training of health workers in youth-friendly and gender-sensitive health care.

more Infos

Our partner in Uganda:

A4HU

Find out more about our partner organisation in Uganda and how we work together

to the website of Action 4 Health Uganda

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Plannable support for young people

DSW Ethiopia’s Y4H Project Coalesces an ASRH Advocacy Workshop

Blog | 07. December 2023

Already ten months into its first year of implementation, the Youth for Health (Y4H) project hosted a half-day adolescent sexual and reproductive health advocacy workshop on 15 November 2023 at Sapphire Hotel in Addis Ababa. Ahead of a series of other sensitisation workshops planned to engage key stakeholders, the young adolescent champions joined representatives from the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) to initiate and set action points during the half-day workshop initiated by DSW.

Regional decision-makers coming from the project areas and other leaders representing civil society organsations such as the Consortium of Reproductive Health Associations (CORHA), Y4H Ethiopia consortium members Marie Stopes International Ethiopia (MSIE) and Youth Network Sustainable Development (YNSD) were among those who attended the workshop.

In his opening remarks, Feyera Assefa, Country Director of DSW Ethiopia, acknowledged the commitment of a team of experts from the FMoH to validate the relevance of the project based on research findings. He also announced the presence of two members of DSW’s international team, Johanna Rosenwirth, Institutional Funding & Partnerships Officer and Peter Kroll, Project Management Officer who were at the workshop.
“Adolescence is an important developmental stage in life. It requires the ability of young adolescents to realise their dream in an environment that enables them to meet their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs, including access to contraception. Thus, seeing these adolescents and youth champions in a high-profile adult-dominated workshop sitting front row gives us a sense of how the stakes of the project are already relevant to their ability to advocate on leveraging budgets for SRH needs and doing so on behalf of so many of their peers,” Mr. Peter Kroll emphasised. Y4H is identified by and for young people, and is specifically designed to rely on the commitment of youth champions to advocate at local and national levels.

“When we talk about youth champions, it is meant that the young people don’t get to passively benefit from the project by being at the receiving end but they too get involved as key stakeholders to engage in advocacy activities driven by evidence-based needs,” Feyera emphasised. Noting that, given the changing circumstances in terms of resource mobilisation or budget allocation and disbursement for youth SRH-focused interventions, which are affected by both the internal and external environments; the strategy of empowering youth advocates makes more sense for practical reasons.

According to Dr. Jemal Adem, a senior advisor at the FMoH, the financing of family planning services in Ethiopia is less effective in providing short-acting methods. For example, if the injectable FP method (Depo-Provera) is taken four times a year to prevent unplanned pregnancy for every other three months of the year, or multiplied by four years, it could need to be taken sixteen times. One Implanon could be used once every four years to prevent unintended birth for as long as it is utilised. In terms of both cost-effectiveness and reliability, the long-acting methods would be deal to take. In reality, the short-acting FP methods, such as injectable, continue to be the most widely used among young people. This trend hasn’t been without serious budgetary implication and coffer shortage of public funds. This is where a strategy to requisite the engagements in advocacy efforts by the youth champions comes in, suggests Dr. Jemal, based on his research findings on domestic financing presented during the early session of the workshop.

“Considering the 2021 Abuja Declaration, which asserts the commitments by African nations to a benchmark of 15 percent of budget spending on health, in some encouraging cases more than others haven’t lagged a lot behind. However, the absence of a budget line specific to adolescents’ SRH needs in the government budget planning on the one hand, the grim reality of the 13 percent teenage pregnancy prevalence in Ethiopia on the other could only oblige us further to create a strong enabling environment for engaging young adolescents in advocacy champions as part of the panacea. The efforts in advocacy to leveraging budgets for youth SRH/FP service needs must be explored through diverse sources,” Tsigie Gebretsadik, Advocacy Manager with DSW Ethiopia, qualifies an important take-away point in her presentation.

One of DSW’s youth champions, Elizabeth Addisu suggests that “the mainstream and social media platforms are very instrumental to the effect of advocacy on the budget shortfalls in youth and adolescent SRH issues.” She also recognises the importance of intensifying advocacy campaigns to increased budgetary resources for youth SRH wellbeing, but Elizabeth questions the wisdom of “entirely associating the health of youth with SRH issues per se, while substance abuse and other related social problems continue to affect the wellbeing of many more youth that remain largely unchecked”.

“Whether in the form of peer pressures or through unchecked behaviours that some of our youth may have become vulnerable to the various sources of social problems, the whole advocacy efforts objectively foster within the broader framework of addressing the needs for youth SRH wellbeing, including such social problems as substance abuse. The challenging question may arise from the fact that we are able to create demand for SRH services but fall short in ensuring the supplies of commodities. This situation as it exists would exacerbate an increase in unmet need if we don’t advocate for increased resources from any possible source, be it domestic or external donors,” Feyera cautiously noted an action point.

In his closing statement, Dr. Alemeayehu Hunduma, head of the Reproductive Health, Family Planning, Adolescent & Youth Health desk at the FMoH, welcomed the initiation by DSW to deploy a league of mentored adolescents and youth advocates who on behalf of themselves and their fellow young people in Ethiopia are committed to engaging the government stakeholders in budget allotment and disbursement for SRH needs of adolescents and youth.

“The Ministry of Health has put forth so many action points to broaden the platforms for advocacy when it comes to advancing budget sources for youth SRH needs, including the use of social media such as TikTok and the big personalities with a lot of followers internationally to speak on behalf of our efforts. This was done as we are concurrently managing the efforts to increase the domestic budget sources. For instance, this year’s budget for the health sector bounced up to 270 million birr, that is an eighteen percent average rate increment compared to the past four years budget allocation. Let’s work this out together and we remain committed to creating an enabling environment for the adolescents to engage in their advocacy efforts,” Dr. Alemayehu expressed optimism in his closing remarks.

Youth for Health is an advocacy-based intervention co-funded by the European Union and DSW in a complementary partnership with Marie Stopes International and other partners is undertaking the implementation in Oromia and South-Ethiopia region since it was officially launched in January 2023.

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Esayas Gebre-Meskel

Our Projects

Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) is one of the few German organisations that promotes the right to family planning in development cooperation. In particular, we support young people in East Africa to make self-determined decisions about their sexuality and contraception.

We have chosen a selection of our projects to give you an insight into our work in the East African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This page will be updated regularly.

View our projects

What sets our initiatives apart

Our approach

Sub-Saharan Africa has the youngest population in the world – almost one in two people is under the age of 15. This generation of young people holds great potential for the development of their home countries. Through our projects in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, we are committed to providing young people with education and health initiatives that give them the chance of a better future.

In our projects, young people can learn about taboo topics such as sexuality and contraception. For example, they learn how to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy and HIV. A special feature of our work is the principle of “by young people, for young people”. This allows young people to talk openly about sensitive issues. They can also share their experiences and knowledge with each other in a friendly and safe environment.

Through our educational work and our training programmes young people gain the skills to how to earn their own income. In this way, we help them to stand on their own two feet and escape poverty. We also involve parents, teachers, political and religious leaders, and communities in our project work to achieve the greatest and most sustainable impact.

Impressions from current projects

Flying Nurses trained by us offer important medical services to (mainly young) people in Ethiopia.

POWER is an initiative funded by DSW and led by our partner Action for Health Uganda to promote female-led business start-ups.

The project “Afya yangu – shule yangu” (“My health – my school”) is aimed at young women and girls between the ages of 15 and 19.

The Youth Truck is very popular. Many young people come to the truck to get information, education and communication material and condoms.

For many young people, talking to their parents about contraception is out of the question. This is where the “Life Yangu” app comes into play.

Youth for Health (Y4H) is an EU co-funded initiative that aims to improve access to sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights for young people.

What sets our initiatives apart

Helping people to help themselves

The principle of ‘helping people to help themselves’ is central to development cooperation because it promotes long-term, sustainable change. Rather than offering short-term solutions, this principle focuses on strengthening the skills and resources of local communities. By empowering people to solve their own problems and improve their lives, sustainable development becomes possible. This approach promotes personal responsibility, independence and the development of skills within communities, leading to a sustainable and lasting improvement in the quality of life, without creating permanent dependency on external assistance. It is also central to put young people and their needs and aspirations at the centre, without ignoring their environment.

Measuring impact

Collecting and analysing data is a key part of our project work. Many of our projects are evaluated by external experts – as required by donors – or we commission studies ourselves. We also use a web-based database in which we systematically record and analyse our impact observations and project progress. To do this, we train our teams and peer educators to collect data on the impact of our work. They ask their peers whether education, information and advice has helped them. This data is particularly useful to us because it feeds directly into our project work.

An example

Project “Flying Nurses”

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Age-appropriate (and discreet) health care for young people is the goal of the Youth-Friendly Clinics (YFC), which began as a pilot project in Asela in 2022 and has since expanded to five clinics. Young patients do not have to sit with adults in a waiting room where they might meet friends or relatives. This is often a problem when it comes to topic of sex and sexual and reproductive health in Ethiopia, especially in rural areas where people know each other.

Another challenge is the vast distances involved. The youth-friendly clinics are addressing this issue with “flying nurses”, who provide family planning services in remote communities. One of them is 23-year-old Makeya. “DSW trained me,” she says, “and now I can use this knowledge to help the girls and young women who need it most.” But it is not always easy: “Most of the time we rely on vehicles, but sometimes we have to walk to reach remote communities,” Makeya says. Their patients are all the more grateful for this. Makeya now hopes to expand: “We want to reach more people and give them the basic contraceptive services they deserve,” she says. The five clinics are located in the Amhara, Oromia and SNNP regions. They work closely with local health authorities and centres. DSW aims to improve access, quality and utilisation of health services for young people, especially women and girls aged 15-29. Staff from the Ministry of Health have also been brought on board to promote the YFC. The youth-friendly information will also be translated into local languages.

Our focus on Africa

The world is young. About 42 per cent of the world’s 8 billion people are children, adolescents and young adults up to the age of 24. Their share of the population is particularly high in developing countries. In Europe, around 27 percent of the population is under the age of 24; in Africa, the figure is more than twice as high at 60 percent. Young people can be the key to development, especially in the poorer regions of the world. However, this requires that girls and boys have access to good health care, education and work, know their (basic) rights and are able to plan their own families. For over 30 years, we have therefore been carrying out educational work in East Africa and campaigning at political level in Germany and the EU to ensure that sustainable population development is on the international political agenda.

Ethiopia Uganda Kenya Tanzania

Our project database

DSW Ethiopia shares insight at the 4th national adolescent and youth health forum

Blog | 12. October 2023

The 4th National Adolescent and Youth Health Forum, which drew professionals, decision makers, youth advocates, and more than 300 young people from across the country, was held from October 1 to 3, 2023, at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa. “The Power of Partnership: Meaningful Adolescent and Youth Engagement for Improved Health” was the forum’s central theme. The forum aimed to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders in order to strengthen the delivery of adolescent and youth health services. It provided a platform for participants to discuss innovative strategies, share best practices, and identify key priorities for improving the health outcomes of young people. The forum brought together a diverse range of participants, including government officials, representatives from non-governmental organisations including UNFPA and WHO, healthcare professionals, and youth champions from all DSW project areas. Through interactive workshops and panel discussions, attendees explored ways to empower adolescents and youth to actively participate in decision-making processes related to their health. Additionally, the forum emphasised the importance of fostering partnerships between different sectors to ensure comprehensive and integrated health services for young people.

Adolescent and youth engagement in health programmes can help address their specific needs and challenges, such as reproductive health, mental health, and substance abuse. When they are actively involved in the decision-making process, interventions can be tailored to their specific needs, resulting in more effective and impactful outcomes. This not only enhances the effectiveness of health programmes but also promotes a culture of inclusivity and participation among adolescents and youth, setting the stage for their active involvement in shaping their own health and well-being. This approach recognises their unique perspectives and ensures that interventions are relevant and responsive to their evolving needs. Ultimately, this leads to improved health outcomes and equips them with the necessary skills and knowledge to make informed choices throughout their lives.

The multi-sectoral approach ensures that a wide range of perspectives and expertise are considered in the development and implementation of health programmes for adolescents and youth. This procedure allows for a holistic understanding of the various factors that influence adolescent and youth health, including social, economic, and cultural determinants. By incorporating input from different sectors such as education, healthcare, and government, the forum aims to create comprehensive strategies that address the diverse needs of adolescents and youth. This multi-sectoral engagement is critical to achieving the health sector’s 10-year plan as well as meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Dr. Ergoge Tesfaye, Minister of Women and Social Affairs, delivered a keynote speech emphasising the importance of prioritising the health and well-being of adolescents and youth in Ethiopia. She emphasised the importance of awareness, education, and collaboration among healthcare providers, educators, and community organisations in order to create a supportive environment for healthy behaviours and accessible resources. Dr. Ergoge calls for collaboration and coordinated efforts to address the specific health needs and challenges faced by adolescents and youth. The coordinated effort should include comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, mental health support, and access to quality healthcare services. By prioritising the health and well-being of adolescents and youth, we can empower them to make informed decisions about their own health and ultimately contribute to a healthier society. This can be achieved through initiatives such as peer support programmes, youth-friendly healthcare facilities, and inclusive policies that address the unique needs of this population.

Dr. Liya Tadesse, Minister of Health, stated, “Investing in the health and well-being of adolescents and youth is crucial for the overall development of our society. By providing comprehensive health education, mental health support, and access to quality healthcare services, we can equip young people with the knowledge and resources they need to lead healthy lives. This will not only benefit them individually but also have a positive impact on the future of our nation.” Dr. Liya emphasised the potential of digital healthcare services to improve accessibility and effectiveness for adolescents and youth. By leveraging technology, personalised health information can be provided, remote consultations can be offered, and digital platforms can raise awareness about health issues. Adolescent and youth-friendly health services should offer comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, contraception access, and confidential mental health services. These should be tailored to their needs, ensuring active participation in healthcare decisions. Partnerships with schools, community organisations, and peer support networks can enhance accessibility.

Dr. Dagmawit Workagegnehu (MD), a project officer at DSW, presented “Serving the Underserved: Improving the SRH of Vulnerable Working Youth,” emphasising the need for targeted interventions and comprehensive services to address the unique barriers faced by vulnerable working youth in accessing sexual and reproductive health services. She highlighted the importance of tailoring programmes to the unique needs of working youth and the role of peer education and awareness campaigns in empowering young individuals to make informed decisions about their health. Dr. Dagmawit noted that the expansion of industrial parks, flower farms, and factories has attracted a large number of young workers, >85% of whom are women. This influx of young female workers has created a pressing need for sexual and reproductive health services that specifically cater to their needs. Dagmawit emphasised the significance of providing comprehensive information on contraception, STI prevention, and other SRH services to ensure the well-being and autonomy of these vulnerable working youth. Dr. Dagmawit said, “DSW has been working on three pillars at work places: demand creation, creating access, and an enabling environment. These pillars aim to address the unique challenges faced by working youth in accessing sexual and reproductive health services. By creating awareness and generating demand for these services, DSW is empowering these youths to take control of their own health and well-being. Additionally, by advocating for an enabling environment that supports their access to SRH services, DSW is working towards ensuring that these working youth can exercise their autonomy and make informed decisions about their reproductive health.”

Mr. Tesfaye Felaha, DSW’s program manager, also underlined the need for creating safe spaces, particularly for women and girls, with the aim of effectively preventing and addressing gender-based violence. Mr. Felaha’s presentation highlighted the WGFS established by DSW as a successful approach to creating safe environments for women and girls. These spaces provide a supportive and empowering atmosphere where survivors can access essential services, receive counseling, and participate in skill-building activities. Additionally, WGFS also serves as a platform for community engagement and awareness-raising on gender-based violence, fostering a collective effort towards prevention and response. The lesson learned from these WGFS is the importance of holistic and comprehensive approaches to addressing gender-based violence, which not only focus on providing immediate support to survivors but also work towards long-term prevention and societal change. Furthermore, the success of these spaces highlights the need for continued investment in resources and support systems that prioritize the safety and well-being of women and girls. The engagement of young women and girls in these spaces is crucial, as it empowers them to become leaders and advocates in their communities. This inclusivity also helps to break the cycle of violence by promoting education, awareness, and empowerment among future generations.

Dr. Meseret Zelalem, Child, Adolescent, and Youth Health Lead Executive Officer at the Ministry of Health, stressed the importance of engaging adolescents and youth in health decision-making processes. She called for multi-sectoral partnerships to address complex factors like education, employment, gender equality, and social determinants of health, including marginalised populations. Dr. Meseret also emphasised the need for ongoing research and data collection to inform evidence-based policies and interventions that specifically target the unique health needs of adolescents and youth. In her concluding remark, Dr. Meseret underscored the importance of empowering adolescents and youth to advocate for their own health, involving their experiences in policy-making, and tailoring interventions for improved health outcomes. The key directions put forth by Dr. Meseret are the strengthening of partnerships between governments, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive approach to adolescent and youth health. This collaboration will enable the sharing of resources, expertise, and best practices to effectively address the multifaceted challenges faced by this population. Additionally, Dr. Meseret highlighted the significance of engaging with local communities and promoting youth-led initiatives to foster sustainable change and create a supportive environment for the health and well-being of adolescents and youth.

Photos: private

DSW

Adolescent champion challenges African leaders to improve SRHR for young people

Blog | 25. September 2023

DSW and its partners, MSI Zambia and Restless Development Zambia, hosted a side event at the 5th African Youth United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit in Lusaka, Zambia.

The event brought together young African leaders, policy-makers, and other stakeholders from more than ten countries to collaborate, share ideas, and strategise on the implementation of the SDGs across the continent. The side event, a panel discussion, was titled Inclusive approaches and the importance of involving adolescents, young peoples and marginalised groups, such as adolescents with disabilities, and adolescents living in rural and other hard-to-reach areas in improving Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services.

Moses Kibet, (18), a DSW adolescent champion from West Pokot, Kenya, was part of the panel that comprised young people and decision makers from Zambia. Moses spoke on youth-led interventions supported by DSW that promote access to SRH information and services in the country.

Moses shared a few approaches, including peer-to-peer learning, where a team of 15 adolescent champions, trained by DSW reach out to their peers with SRH information at the community level.

In addition, the champions, work closely with county decision makers, advocating for allocation of more domestic resources towards interventions such as youth-friendly spaces that promote demand and utilisation of SRH services among young people.

“You know when I walk into a facility and I ask about sexual reproductive health services…the personnel will ask me ‘Why are you having sex’ and this is already a barrier. When we say safe space, it means that young people are comfortable and confident expressing themselves with the healthcare personnel in the room.” Moses Kibet, Adolescent champion, Kenya

Such interventions in Kenya have contributed to the reduction of teenage pregnancy from 18% in 2014 to 15% in 2022, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. If all African countries adopt similar youth-led interventions, the continent will see a reduction in child marriage and teenage pregnancy cases.

He also highlighted Lifeyangu, a platform established by DSW in collaboration with young people, with the aim of providing accurate and reliable contraception information to the youth in a confidential manner.

The interactive session, attended by 150 delegates, also alluded to SRH Rights challenges faced by adolescents and youth across the continent. They include, lack of youth-friendly spaces, inadequate staffing at facilities, and contraceptives commodity stock-outs.

These challenges were also recognised by Dr. Matildah Simpungwe, the Ministry of Health’s Assistant Director- Adolescent Health-Zambia, during her presentation, where she highlighted the Ministry’s commitment to providing more inclusive services, especially to young people living with disabilities.

“We have done quite a lot as a Ministry to ensure services are more inclusive to adolescents with disabilities. For instance, in collaboration with MSI Zambia, we have developed sign language posters, job aids and charts on family planning and delivery. With support from other partners, we have translated key health documents into braille…” Dr. Matildah Simpungwe, Ministry of Health’s Assistant Director- Adolescent Health-Zambia

Finally, Moses highlighted the work young people are doing on social accountability through the community scorecard.

Social accountability is a citizen-led action to hold public officials and service providers to account for the use of public resources and services delivered.

Community scorecard is a tool applied in a participatory process to rate public services and the performance of a service providers with the aim of identifying failures and gaps in order to improve the quality, efficiency, accessibility, relevance, and accountability in the delivery of public services.

“In this process, we [young people and healthcare providers] come up with a scorecard…with actions points and timelines. As Youth for Health champions, we follow up with the facility on the extent of implementation. This has been effective because when there is that safe space, privacy, and confidentiality, it increases the uptake of reproductive health services among young people.” Moses Kibet, Adolescent champion, Kenya

DSW in collaboration with other Youth for Health Consortium patners in Zambia (MSI Zambia and Restless Development) submitted a call to action for the African continent to respect, promote and protect the rights of young people’s access to SRH services, with major focus on

Allocating domestic resources towards affordable and accessible health education and services;

Improving political commitments, leadership and governance to promote access to reproductive health services; and

Developing policy and legislative frameworks against discriminatory laws and traditions that prevent young people, including those with disabilities, from enjoying sexual and reproductive health wellbeing.

This is foundational to achieving several sustainable development goals including SDG 3 (health and wellbeing), SDG 5 (gender equality) and SDG 6 (reduced inequality).

The Youth for Health Project 

The Youth for Health (Y4H) project is a three-year initiative co-funded by the European Union that works to expand access to life-changing adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights. Its focus is on reaching the poorest and most marginalized adolescent girls, including those living with disabilities, and in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia. By unlocking demand and access and contributing towards changes in favor of supportive policies and funding environments, Y4H will increase and sustain access to reproductive choices for girls and young women.  

Youth for Health is being implemented by MSI Reproductive Choices together with Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW), Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA) Kenya, Health Alert Sierra Leone (HASiL), Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG), Sikika in Tanzania, Restless Development Zambia and Youth Network for Sustainable Development (YNSD) in Ethiopia. 

For more information on DSW’s role in the Youth for Health project, see our project page.

Esayas Gebre-Meskel

Sexuality Education in schools in Kenya

Holistic Action Project for Young Adolescents (HAPA)

In Kenya, over 37 per cent of the population is under the age of 15. The older ones among them are going through a significant transitional phase: puberty. Their bodies change, menstruation begins, questions about sexuality arise, and many have their first sexual experiences – often not by choice, as sexual abuse is widespread. Their needs are often not recognised by those around them. Unwanted pregnancies and high HIV infection rates are the result. With our project, we reached ten to fourteen-year-old students in primary schools with age-appropriate information on sexuality and contraception, and strengthened their rights.

Having control over your own body and having the abilitiy to decide for yourself whether, when, with whom and how many children you want to have later sets the course for self-determined future planning. We supported 7,000 ten to 14-year-old girls and boys in the coastal region of Kilifi and in the rural region of West Pokot in Kenya in acquiring knowledge and accessing appropriate health services, enabling them to take the first step towards a self-determined future. The transfer of knowledge took place primarily in school clubs, where trained young people passed on their knowledge to their peers. To enable the adolescents to realise their potential, we involved the local community as well as the schools. Among other things, children’s rights and the prosecution of offences against children and young people were strengthened through cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

Miriam Riechers

Key activities

Creation of 14 clubs in primary schools, each with a membership of around 25 people

Training for primary school pupils (aged ten to 14) to become peer educators

Training of teaching staff and parents

Age-appropriate knowledge transfer to thousands of pupils by peer educators, club members, teachers and youth mentors through group meetings, girls’ forums and various school activities

Dialogue with community members, health workers and decision-makers to inform them about adolescents’ rights and raise awareness of their concerns

Cooperation with law enforcement authorities to strengthen children’s rights and prosecute perpretrators

Establishment of exchange forums for young people to voice their concerns and wishes to the political authorities.

Empowering young adolescents to participate in political decision-making processes

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And the winners are…..

Blog | 22. January 2024

Three solutions emerged the winners of DSW Kenya’s 2023 Call for Innovative Youth-led Solutions from over 50 submissions from across the country.

GiPAD by Madvocate CBO from Kilifi emerged as the winner under the sexual and reproductive health (SRHR) category. Their solution is designed to use art to champion SRHR rights and information using a GiPad App for mentorship, development of dignity packs for livelihood improvement and comic book for awareness creation.

Niko Informed by Nelly Awino from Kisumu emerged on top under the gender-based violence category. It aims to integrate and disseminate by-laws, policies and legal frameworks on SGBV by translating them into local dialect (Luo) and local slang to enhance community understanding.

Diversity Africana from West Pokot was selected as the third overall best solution. Their solution seeks to engage composers & singers of indigenous Pokot songs to compose dances & songs in their local dialect to educate their community on the importance of preventing and reporting gender-based violence.

Besides winning the grant (Ksh 500,000 for Madvocate CBO and Nelly Awino’s and Sh200,000 for Diversity Africana) to implement their winning solutions in their communities, the winners will also receive mentorship, networking opportunities, and support to further develop and implement their solutions.

Speaking at the award ceremony, DSW Kenya’s Country Director, Evelyn Samba noted that young people had proven that they have the solutions to the challenges they face.

“From the submissions we received when we put out a call, it is evident that our youths have solutions to their problems. It is time for us to give them that opportunity to create their own solutions and help implement them.” – Evelyn Samba.

She also added that often, youth are left behind when it comes to conversations around issues affecting them. Involving them in development processes can lead to more effective and inclusive outcomes, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment among young people.

Kigen Korir, Programs Specialist at UNFPA, said it was important for the winning projects to provide achievable solutions that will have impact for the youths in communities they live in.

“For us, it is not just about project ideas and giving grants, we provide mentorship to them and further link them to partners doing the same thing. We make sure we give them all the resources needed to make sure the winning ideas are turned to tangible projects.” – Kigen Korir

The Call was implemented under the Delivering Accurate Information and Services to Young People (DAISY) Project established under the auspices of the 10th GOK-UNFPA Country Programme.

The outcome of the programme is that by 2026, all people in Kenya at risk of being left behind –particularly all women & girls, all youth& children, all in the ASAL counties and all in the informal urban settlements have improved, inclusive, and equitable social and protection services, with the outputs below:

By 2026, adolescents and youth have increased their capacity and opportunities to participate and lead in policies and programmes on population and development, sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and harmful practices at all levels, including in humanitarian settings.
By 2026, the capacity of key actors and institutions to address discriminatory gender and social norms is strengthened.

DSW Kenya Country Director presents the award to Nelly Awino, the winner under the GBV category.

Polycom Dvelopment Project Executive Director, Jane Anyango with Dyvasity Africana, the third overall winners.

Imara TV CEO Stephen Maina presents a certificate to TouchCare CBO.

Black Coffee’s Angela Kioko.

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Participants dance at the award ceremony.

Photo: Kigen Korir, Programs Specialist at UNFPA with Menza Mghendi and Kiti Chigiri Madvocate CBO, the winners under the SRHR category. PHOTO: ALEX MBURU

Nduta Waweru

More health for youth

Youth for Health (Y4H) is a three-year initiative that will work to expand access to life-changing adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights (ASRHR), with a focus on reaching the poorest and most marginalised adolescent girls, including those with disabilities, in rural and hard-to-reach areas of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia. By unlocking demand and access and contributing towards changes in favour of supportive policies and funding environments, Youth for Health will increase and sustain access to ASRHR for girls and young women.

DSW in a consortium led by MSI Reproductive Choices, along with six other national partners, Centre for the Study of Adolescence (CSA) Kenya, Health Alert Sierra Leone (HASiL), Youth Advocates Ghana (YAG), Sikika, Restless Development Zambia and Youth Network for Sustainable Development (YNSD) Ethiopia are implementing the Y4H project. Each partner brings a wealth of experience working with, and for, adolescents, including in youth-friendly services; youth-led accountability and participation in governance; youth leadership, especially of young women; youth mobilisation; and community engagement; as well as long-standing media and communication experience.

DSW’s role in the project is to improve the political environment and mobilise resources in the countries at local, national and regional levels, while working on the ground in two subdistricts in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania. Other project partners are focused on increasing demand for high-quality SRHR information and ensuring a strong public health sector is able to deliver ASRHR services. In these six subdistricts, DSW-trained youth champions are working to ensure that their demands for improved national ASRHR services are heard. The production and analysis of annual budget studies and community scorecards will be important tools the youth champions will use in their advocacy to call for increased funding for ASRHR in their communities.

Miriam Riechers

Key activities

Annual analysis of public budgets in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia in terms of planning and spending on ASRHR and family planning.

Collection of data on the availability of youth-friendly ASRHR services and modern contraceptives in the communities.

Providing expertise on ASRHR through participation in working groups and consultations at the local, regional and national levels.

Training of 30 youth champions per country on family planning, ASRHR and gender-based violence.

Online and in-person interaction with local community members on ASRHR and gender-based violence issues through campaigns each year.

Engage with the African Union (AU) and East African Community (EAC) by participating at civil society organisation consultation meetings and disseminating ASRHR advocacy priorities

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Plannable support for young people

Health and training for youth

Teenage girls account for one in five pregnancies in Kenya. Many of these teenage pregnancies are unintended. They occur because young people are denied access to knowledge about sexual and reproductive health. The same applies to good health care and contraceptives. The project is financed by KfW and implemented by the Kenyan government. As a cooperation partner, DSW takes on the task of introducing young people between the ages of 15 and 24 to health services and training opportunities.

Parents and teachers often do not provide young people with the necessary information to prevent early pregnancies. And young people often miss out on health care as well. In Kenya and many other African countries, the health system is based on health centres that combine different medical disciplines under one roof. Anyone with a medical concern of any kind goes there – also for contraceptive advice and supply. Only about one in eight of these health centres offers this service specifically for adolescents. This gap, which often leads to adolescents becoming parents at an early age and having to overthrow their plans for the future, is being closed by the programme. This gap, which often leads to young people becoming parents at an early age and impacts their plans for the future, is being closed by the programme.

In the three districts of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, we are working with the Kenyan Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information, Communication, Innovation and Youth to make the health system more responsive to the needs of young people. The project also includes the Life Yangu website. This gives young people access to age-appropriate education, information on contraceptives, and contact details and directions to youth-friendly health centres. In training courses, they also learn important skills for their professional lives. Healthy young people who can make their own decisions about family planning offer enormous development potential for their countries.

Miriam Riechers

Schlüsselaktivitäten

Youth centres: Holistic development

Develop integrated, youth-friendly services in eight youth empowerment centres in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu.

Strengthening youth centres: district initiative

Support for eight youth empowerment centres in three districts

Youth counsellors: education transfer

Education and training of 150 youth counsellors on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and socio-economic skills, who share their knowledge with up to 60,000 youth.

Young financial co-operatives: Support programme

Promotion of 75 Youth Savings and Loans Associations

Youth placement: Companies

Placement of 4,500 youth in micro-enterprises

Adolescent health: Specialist training

Training of health care providers to counsel and treat adolescents

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

25 €

1000 €

€

Help now

Secure donations with SSL encryption

Efficient, as administrative costs are low

Plannable support for young people

Empowering young women with HIV

Schlüsselaktivitäten

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

Prospects for young people – TeamUp in Uganda

Key activities

Our partner in Uganda:

A4HU

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

DSW Ethiopia’s Y4H Project Coalesces an ASRH Advocacy Workshop

Our Projects

Our approach

Impressions from current projects

Helping people to help themselves

Measuring impact

Project “Flying Nurses”

Our focus on Africa

Our project database

YOEP

D2C

HAPA

POWER

More health for youth

A voice for young people in Uganda

DSW Ethiopia shares insight at the 4th national adolescent and youth health forum

Adolescent champion challenges African leaders to improve SRHR for young people

Sexuality Education in schools in Kenya

Key activities

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

And the winners are…..

“From the submissions we received when we put out a call, it is evident that our youths have solutions to their problems. It is time for us to give them that opportunity to create their own solutions and help implement them.” – Evelyn Samba.

“For us, it is not just about project ideas and giving grants, we provide mentorship to them and further link them to partners doing the same thing. We make sure we give them all the resources needed to make sure the winning ideas are turned to tangible projects.” – Kigen Korir

More health for youth

Key activities

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

Health and training for youth

Schlüsselaktivitäten

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

Empowering young women with HIV

Schlüsselaktivitäten

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

You might also be interested in:

TeamUp project in Uganda

Health and training for youth

Prospects for young people – TeamUp in Uganda

Key activities

Our partner in Uganda:

A4HU

Donate regularly, help sustainably.

You might also be interested in:

Empowering young women with HIV

My health – My school

DSW Ethiopia’s Y4H Project Coalesces an ASRH Advocacy Workshop

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Our Projects

Our approach

Impressions from current projects

Helping people to help themselves

Measuring impact

Project “Flying Nurses”

Our focus on Africa

Our project database

YOEP

D2C

HAPA

POWER

More health for youth

A voice for young people in Uganda

DSW Ethiopia shares insight at the 4th national adolescent and youth health forum

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And the winners are…..

“From the submissions we received when we put out a call, it is evident that our youths have solutions to their problems. It is time for us to give them that opportunity to create their own solutions and help implement them.” – Evelyn Samba.

“For us, it is not just about project ideas and giving grants, we provide mentorship to them and further link them to partners doing the same thing. We make sure we give them all the resources needed to make sure the winning ideas are turned to tangible projects.” – Kigen Korir

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Donate regularly, help sustainably.

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