Statement on SPIEGEL article

On March 10, 2023, DER SPIEGEL (issue 11/23) published an article about TARGET e. V. and the Nehberg family.

Why Der Spiegel chose the article "How the dispute over Rüdiger Nehberg's estate is escalating" and wrote "Now a gynecologist and a businessman are fighting over his inheritance" is beyond us. Rüdiger Nehberg writes clearly in his last book "Dem Mut ist keine Gefahr gewachsen" (page 5) who he sees as the heirs to his work for people and nature: His wife Annette and his children Sophie and Roman - the three board members of TARGET e. V.

The article focuses on TARGET's project "Danakil Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic". The clinic is located in the middle of Ethiopia's Danakil stone desert in Afar. Until 2022, it was the only safe place to go for girls and women suffering from the consequences of traditional female genital mutilation among the Afar. It was planned by TARGET e. V. and built by TARGET e. V. from 2010 to 2015 under extreme conditions. With the help of our team, over 2,000 babies were born safely, countless women received gynecological treatment and infants were cared for. At the end of 2020, an armed conflict broke out in the region, which resulted in the evacuation of the clinic in early 2022 and heavily damaged it

The SPIEGEL article places the clinic at the center of a dispute between TARGET e. V. (and not Roman Weber) and Dr. Harlfinger and his "Save Mothers" foundation.

The Danakil Obstetric Clinic was a TARGET project from the very beginning, financed by donations collected by our association. Dr. Harlfinger was involved in the planning and implementation of the project in his position as state chairman of the Professional Association of Gynaecologists in Rhineland-Palatinate, was thankfully available to TARGET e. V. as an advisor and was also on site. This is described in TARGET publications. The fact that Dr. Harlfinger now regards the clinic as "his project" is inexplicable to us.

Dr. Harlfinger has set up a foundation, Save Mothers, with the aim of supporting TARGET's Danakil obstetrics clinic with donations he has raised himself. However, an agreement between the foundation and TARGET e. V. was never reached. Mr. Nehberg ceased contact with Dr. Harlfinger due to irreconcilable differences of opinion at the end of 2019. Roman Weber led the dispute, including the court case against the foundation, with Dr. Harlfinger on behalf of TARGET e. V. and the Nehberg-Weber family. This was also done during his lifetime with the absolute support of Rüdiger Nehberg and the family.

In May 2020, the Save Mothers Foundation and Dr. Harlfinger were clearly and unambiguously informed in writing that TARGET e. V. will not accept any donations from the Save Mothers Foundation. In our opinion, however, donors to the Save Mothers Foundation are still being led to believe that the project in the Danakil Desert is being supported.

We can therefore only advise all donors who have donated to Save Mothers for TARGET's Danakil Obstetric Clinic project to reclaim their donations.

The article could also give the impression that TARGET e. V. Rüdiger Nehberg does not handle donations correctly. We reject this with all clarity and determination. All donations to TARGET e. V. are used properly and effectively in accordance with the association's statutes. All annual financial statements are submitted to and audited by the supervisory authorities. The income and expenditure of donations and their use can be fully and completely documented at TARGET e. V. at all times.

TARGET e. V. and the Nehberg-Weber family very much regret the article in Der Spiegel. Dr. Harlfinger's statements are obviously intended to discredit TARGET e. V. and the Nehberg-Weber family. We reject in the strongest possible terms the statement that "money from the association, a six-figure sum, went to the board", as well as the claim by "friends" of Rüdiger Nehberg regarding his estate. They do not correspond to any reality.

"If Rüdiger were still alive, he would defend himself against Mr. Harlfinger in a completely different way," his wife Annette Nehberg is certain.