DSW (german: Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung) is an

international non-governmental organisation An international non-governmental organization (INGO) is an organization which is independent of government involvement and extends the concept of a non-governmental organization (NGO) to an international scope. NGOs are independent of government ...

addressing Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and

population dynamics Population dynamics is the type of mathematics used to model and study the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems. History Population dynamics has traditionally been the dominant branch of mathematical biology, which has ...

. DSW funds its project and advocacy work from private donations and the financial support of governments, foundations and other organisations. It has its headquarters in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

DSW was founded in 1991 as a private non-profit foundation by German entrepreneurs Erhard Schreiber and

Dirk Rossmann Dirk Rossmann (born 1946) is a German billionaire businessman and author, founder of Rossmann, Germany's second-largest drug store chain. As of August 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$3.7 billion. In 1972, he established the first self ...

. DSW opened country offices in the 1990s, in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, to provide field-based services. In 2000, DSW opened an EU Liaison office in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, to help mobilize resources in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

—collectively the world’s largest donor of

development assistance Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: developm ...

—to improve

global health Global health is the health of the populations in the worldwide context; it has been defined as "the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide". Problem ...

with a focus on

sexual and reproductive health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...

Activities

DSW’s activities are focused on promoting sustainable demographic development, empowering women and their role in society, reducing and limiting the spread of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

, and improving the quality of life of young people in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. DSW runs a ''Youth-to-Youth Initiative'' in East Africa that attempts to empower youth to play an active role in improving Sexual & Reproductive Health in their communities and their countries, through peer education, advocacy and income-generating activities. In implementing this program, DSW supports over 1,000 youth clubs with a combined total membership of 30,000 youth and adolescents. In Europe, DSW is involved in awareness-raising activities about the links between population dynamics, environment and health. Abroad, DSW promotes development projects in countries with a high need for

family planning Family planning is the consideration of the number of children a person wishes to have, including the choice to have no children, and the age at which they wish to have them. Things that may play a role on family planning decisions include marita ...

, sexual and reproductive health education and other services related to SRH, particularly those countries most afflicted by poor indicators for

Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...

3 and 5 (child mortality and maternal health). Officially registered as a

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

under German law, DSW provides sub-granting to other

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...

itself. DSW seeks to engage both corporate and political actors to ensure that sexual and reproductive health education and

contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

is strengthened and financially supported in developing countries. This includes activities such as liaising with governments, parliamentarians and partner organizations at the national and international levels in Europe and the Global South to vote in favour of SRH-related legislation, or to increase funding for sexual and reproductive health programmes generally. DSW produces an annual ''Euromapping'' report, which scrutinizes EU

Official Development Assistance Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure aid, foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in ...

(ODA) commitments and disbursements. DSW also plays a

capacity building Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy". The terms ''capacity building'' and ''capacity development'' ha ...

role in developing countries to increase civil society's ability to advocate effectively towards governments and donors to integrate SRH in their ODA contributions. DSW runs two training centres in Uganda and Ethiopia, supported by German women’s clothing chain BONITA GmbH & Co. KG, that focus on the capacity building of youth-serving organizations to address questions about health, sexuality and contraception. In 2005, DSW helped found the Alfred Biolek Stiftung on AIDS in Africa, and continues to provide administrative support for their activities. DSW relies on the advice of notable international experts and public figures on various thematic issues, including Alfred Biolek,

Margot Käßmann Margot Käßmann (; born 3 June 1958) is a Lutheran theologian, who was '' Landesbischöfin'' (bishop) of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover in Germany. On 28 October 2009, she was elected to lead the ''Evangelical Church in Germany'', a ...

Nafis Sadik Nafis Sadik (18 August 1929 – 14 August 2022) was a Pakistani physician, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General with additional responsibilities as Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia, and former executive director of the United Nations Pop ...

Rita Süssmuth Rita Süssmuth ( ''née'' Kickuth; ; born 17 February 1937) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She served as the 10th President of the Bundestag. From 1985 to 1988, she served as Federal Minister for Youth, Family ...

Klaus Töpfer Klaus Töpfer (born 29 July 1938) is a German politician ( CDU) and environmental politics expert. From 1998 to 2006 he was executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Early life and education Töpfer was born in ...

and

Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker (born 25 June 1939) is a German scientist and politician (SPD). He was a member of the German Bundestag and served as co-president of the Club of Rome jointly with Anders Wijkman 2011 – 2019. Family A member of ...

References

External links

www.dsw.org

youth-to-youth.org
{{Authority control Population concern advocacy groups Population concern organizations Population organizations Development charities based in Germany International organisations based in Germany Foundations based in Germany Medical and health organisations based in Lower Saxony Organizations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Germany

History

Activities

See also

References

External links