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Promoting sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) for young Namibians: Germany funds “Pamwe” project of the Namibia Planned Parenthood Association (NAPPA) with 1,9 Mio. NAD.
Signing Ceremony(l to r.)NAPPA Chairperson, Sevelia Kasuto and German Ambassador Dr. Thorsten Hutter as well as NAPPA Executive Director, Natalia Ihemba and NAPPA Communication & Advocacy Manager, Louise Mhundwa. © German Embassy Windhoek
The “Pamwe” project promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights for adolescents and young people in the Kavango, Kunene, and Omusati regions of Namibia is funded by Germany with 98,465.89 euros (around 1,900,000.- NAD). The German Ambassador to Namibia, Dr. Thorsten Hutter, signed the agreement with the Namibia Planned Parenthood Association, represented by its Chairperson, Sevelia Kasuto, its Executive Director, Natalia Ihemba, and its Communication and Advocacy Manager, Louise Mhundwa. The project is running from May 1 to December 31, 2026.
The central objective of the “Pamwe” project — whose name means “Together” in several Namibian dialects — is to address teenage pregnancies and challenge cultural barriers and attitudes that undermine SRHR while improving local, regional and national capacity to promote gender transformative change. Through comprehensive education about sexuality, menstrual health and hygiene promotion, and improved access to youth-friendly health services, the project targets adolescent girls and young women, adolescent boys and young men, and young people with disabilities across the Kavango, Kunene, and Omusati regions.
NAPPA Executive Director Natalia Ihemba added: “The Pamwe project is not only a service delivery intervention; it is an investment in prevention, dignity and informed choice. Teenage pregnancy is often the visible outcome of deeper structural challenges, including poverty, limited access to accurate information, unequal gender relations, disability exclusion, and cultural barriers that silence young people from seeking help. Through this partnership with the Government of Germany, NAPPA will work with communities, schools, health workers, leaders, parents and young people themselves to create safer, more informed and more supportive environments where adolescents can make healthy decisions and access services without fear, stigma or discrimination. She further noted that ”As ‘Pamwe’ means ‘Together’, this is exactly the spirit required to address teenage pregnancy and protect sexual and reproductive health and rights. No single institution can solve this challenge alone. It requires families, communities,government, civil society, development partners and young people working together to transform attitudes, strengthen referral pathways, and ensure that SRHR services are practical, confidential, youth-friendly and accessible to those most at risk.“
Teenage pregnancy in Namibia remains a critical public health and human rights concern. With a national rate of 82 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescents aged 15-19 (NDHS, 2013), the consequences are far-reaching: school dropout, increased gender inequality, unsafe abortion, and in some cases, infanticide. The situation is most acute in rural regions, where the Kunene, Kavango, and Omusati regions record some of the highest rates in the country. The ”Pamwe“ project addresses these challenges through a multi-facetted approach: training community leaders, educators and healthcare workers in gender-transformative approaches; delivering comprehensive education on SRHR in schools, communities, and health facilities; conducting mobile clinic outreaches; and ensuring that young people with disabilities have access to targeted SRHR information and services.
The funding of the ”Pamwe“ project is part of the German Federal Foreign Office's global human rights programme, which supports around 130 projects every year in developing and emerging countries across Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe.
The Namibia Planned Parenthood Association is a Namibian welfare organisation (REG NR. WO141) that has been active since 1996. NAPPA operates a multi-level public health intervention for adolescents and young people to improve sexual and reproductive health and HIV services in communities across the country.
