The German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (DAHW)

Social and Medical Help Counts

The German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association (DAHW) is a registered association with its headquarters in Würzburg, Germany. The relief organisation was founded in 1957 and currently boasts 59 members. It is politically and denominationally independent.

The tasks of the 73 full-time DAHW employees, both in Germany and the „Third World“, include the professional management of more than 300 relief projects and fundraising activities.

With its eight members, the DAHW Board works on a voluntary basis. It is elected by the members‘ meeting, acts in an advisory capacity to the full-time employees and approves the yearly budget. The President and Vice-President represent the relief organisation to the general public. The voluntary Treasurer is also a Board member.

Ruth Pfau and DAHW helping the ill in Pakistan. Foto DAHW/Rolf Bauerdick

Two priorities

The focus of our work is to cure people suffering from Leprosy and Tuberculosis in Asia, Africa and South America. Both groups of patients can be given medical treatment at the same time. These infectious diseases can be cured within six to twelve months if medicine is administered.

Our relief measures include supporting individual Leprosy hospitals, training public health workers and supporting disabled and marginalised persons. As more and more of our patients are suffering from both Tuberculosis and AIDS, we are managing special projects that aim to conquer these diseases in a combined effort. As a result, the patients‘ life expectancy has increased considerably.

If needed, we also provide emergency aid in regions where DAHW projects already exist. Thus we were able to support tsunami survivors in India last year, providing them with medical and social support.

DAHW fieldwork

Generally DAHW works together with churches as the bodies responsible for hospitals, with other relief organisations and with the state health authorities. Our common objective is to provide medical care for the entire population of a country where possible.

We have our own field employees who organise effective collaboration with our partners. In India, the country with the most extensive DAHW support programme, we have been operating a central office under the name of „GLRA India“ in Chennai (Madras) since 1966.

Development of a DAHW project

In countries where we are already active, our field workers check for possibilities to expand our relief programme. In countries where we are not yet active, points of contact with other relief organisations arise, who request us to support a new project together with them. Our „Medical social projects“ department in Würzburg, Germany, passes on a well developed concept to the Board, where a decision is taken regarding the application.

Several criteria must be fulfilled: is there a genuine need at all? Is the planned relief in line with DAHWs focus of attention? Are the intended partners capable of fulfilling medical standards together with us?

DAHW memberships 

ILEP - International Federation of Anti-Leprosy Associations

ILEP coordinates the collaboration of its 15 members who fight to combat Leprosy effectively on a global basis. Resources are concentrated, relief programmes provide reciprocal synergies and experiences are exchanged. 

Stop-TB-Partnership

This partnership forms an alliance of 350 governments and organisations. It supports controlled treatment of all TB infected persons.

VENRO – Association of German Non-Governmental Development Organisations

Approximately 100 German non-governmental organisations have joined forces as VENRO. Together they work in the field of development politics, including the fight against poverty, for the millennium development targets and the implementation of human rights.

Action against AIDS 

This is a network of more than 90 organisations in the field of AIDS and development collaboration, also including 250 grassroots groups such as church parishes. The objective of the alliance is to ensure that political bodies and the Pharmaceuticals Industry assume further responsibility in the fight against AIDS.

United for Africa

Under the motto „United for Africa“, 30 relief organisations have joined in a campaign. They would like to draw attention to the situation of the people in Africa and jointly request donations. The German TV newsreader, Anne Will, is one of the campaign‘s ambassadors

More than 60,000 donors 

The DAHW is financed primarily by sponsorship. Time and time again the „German Central Institute for Social Affairs“ (DZI) has awarded us the donation seal. Our serious approach pays off: more than 80,000 people entrust us with a donation each year. Many of them have already contributed money to support our work for several decades.

Donations in excess of ten million euros make DAHW one of the larger German relief organisations: in the DZI ranking of 200 donation seal organisations, it is ranked at number 21.

Volunteers

Our work in the „Third World“ would be inconceivable without voluntary helpers. More than 2,000 people in Germany are active for DAHW in their spare time. Their involvement includes informing the public in their town or community about the misery of Leprosy and TB victims and collecting money for DAHW. Up to twenty percent of the donations are raised by voluntary workers.

There are groups in several towns some of which have been active for DAHW for more than 40 years. They organise bazaars and charity concerts, sell homemade waffles for example and deliver collection boxes to the shops or the chemists, also providing information about DAHW at information stands.

A new name

The German Leprosy and Tuberculosis Relief Association was called Deutsches Aussätzigen-Hilfswerk for more than 45 years. The organisation was renamed at the beginning of 2003 in order to accommodate its second major focus of attention better, relief for people with TB. We still use the abbreviation DAHW.

DAHW‘s History

1955

A journalist and a theology student from Würzburg meet French Leprologist Dr. Antoine Féron during a journey in Ethiopia. The young men are impressed by his commitment for sufferers of leprosy. They appeal for help in Germany.

DAHWs history started when they supported Dr. Féron (left).

1957

A group of people associated with the journalist Hermann Kober from Würzburg found the „Leprosy Relief Organisation Dr. Féron“ which is renamed „German Leprosy Relief Association“ (GLRA) a few months later. 

1958

The first voluntary helpers travel to Ethiopia to build up the Leprosy Relief Centre Bisidimo. Before long, numerous project applications are also received from other countries.

1961

Partnership with Ruth Pfau starts in Pakistan: gradually Leprosy is coming under control there.

1975

Donations exceed 20 million German marks for the first time.

1981

Leprosy is curable. Treatment is based on a therapy which the DAHW has helped to develop and has applied successfully in Malta since the 1970s.

1990

Following successes achieved in their Leprosy work, the relief organisation establishes a second focus of attention – Tuberculosis, one of the most resilient infectious diseases known to man.

1997

Review of the past 40 years‘ work: the DAHW has helped to cure 1.5 million people infected with Leprosy and Tuberculosis.

2003

The „Deutsche Aussätzigen-Hilfswerk“ renames itself Deutsche Lepra- und Tuberkulosehilfe. Targeted help for patients with both AIDS and Tuberculosis commences with special projects.