Description
For Details please see full NOFO in Related Documents Section 1: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES Program Description The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Zambia in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Zambia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Council (NAC) requests applications for an open competition from key population-led organizations to develop and implement a scorecard as part of PEPFAR Zambia’s efforts to strengthen community-led monitoring (CLM). The scorecard will assess the quality of and barriers to HIV prevention and treatment for key populations in Lusaka and Livingstone districts. PEPFAR defines a key population-led organization as an organization in which the majority of leadership and/or decision-making staff identify as members or former members of key population. PEPFAR recognizes the necessity of key population involvement in the collection and use of data to improve health outcomes and strengthen technical capacity. This funding opportunity seeks to improve the uptake and quality of HIV services for key population communities in Zambia. This will be done in a systematic approach by soliciting, collecting, and analyzing feedback from key population recipients of care to identify gaps in HIV service provision. In addition, the MOH supported sites will be engaged to provide information on key population accessed HIV services. The proposed scorecard is a participatory monitoring tool aimed at engaging key populations to assess the availability and quality of HIV prevention and treatment services and track the implementation of actionable recommendations to facilitate improvements. The tool is participatory in nature as it brings together the service providers (MOH) and users (key populations) in a respectful way to jointly monitor and evaluate services provided at the health facilities and address identified barriers. The scorecard will be a CLM tool designed by and implemented by a key population-led organization. Subject to availability of funding, implementation of the scorecard will be phased beginning with a pilot in Lusaka and Livingstone districts. The lessons learned will inform a potential expansion to other districts using a harmonized approach from the pilot phase. This opportunity is open to not-for-profit, key population-led organizations with the capacity to collaborate with MOH, PEPFAR, other KP organizations and communities, key stakeholders, as well as community-level recipients of care of PEPFAR-supported services. Potential grantees should build on past work providing service to key populations, be able to implement the scorecard to promote collaboration in addressing gaps in HIV services delivery, encourage key populations to share their experience, and facilitate discussion that will strengthen the HIV response in Zambia. Program Objectives PEPFAR Zambia recognizes the value of engaging key populations to address gaps in HIV service delivery, especially for key population communities. This effort will advance the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals by 2025 by documenting, understanding, and addressing barriers to HIV prevention and services faced by key populations. The purpose of the key populations focused scorecard under the CLM initiative is to facilitate a respectful and participatory approach in assessing the availability, access, and quality of key population-friendly services in Lusaka and Livingstone districts. The findings from the scorecard will be presented and discussed at quarterly CLM meetings with GRZ, stakeholders and USG implementing partners. PEPFAR Zambia seeks applicants from key population-led organizations to respond to this funding opportunity. The grantee will focus solely on using the scorecard to collect feedback from key population recipients of care at MOH facilities and share findings at CLM quarterly meetings. The awardee will have oversight of the scorecard implementation and facilitate sharing of collected feedback with all key stakeholders. The deliverables are: 1. Demonstrate eligibility to be designated a KP-led organization. 2. A scorecard for key populations HIV services that include prevention and treatment services. 3. List of indicators that may be used in the scorecard. 4. Develop the scorecard’s Standard Operating Procedure for implementation including: a. Detailed description of the institutions, networks, and community structures your organization will engage to expand the reach of key populations accessing HIV related services at MOH sites in Lusaka and Southern provinces. b. Description of how the grantee will implement the scorecard at the facility, district, and provincial level. c. Description of how the grantee will provide field teams with technical supervision to ensure recipients of care are respectfully engaged and the scorecard is correctly implemented. This will include monthly and quarterly progress reports and timely submission throughout the lifecycle of the grant. 5. Mapping of key population-friendly health facilities and services in Lusaka and Southern provinces. 6. Develop a plan to share and monitor the implementation of actionable recommendations. This should include feedback provision for health facilities through MOH. 7. Plan for continued respectful dialogue with stakeholders at national level. In partnership with MOH, NAC and PEPFAR implementing partners develop tangible best practices for service provision for key populations. The following types of programs are not eligible for funding: (see detail NOFO in documents) Section 2: AWARD INFORMATION Length of performance period: October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024 (12 months) Number of awards anticipated: 1 award Award amount: Award may range up to the maximum of the Kwacha equivalent of $50,000 USD Total available funding: Up to $$50,000 USD Type of funding: FY2024/COP23 Allocated Funds Anticipated program start date: October 1, 2023 Funding instrument type: Cooperative Agreement Program performance period: Proposed programs should be completed no later than September 30, 2024. Section 3: ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION Eligible Applicants: Only applicants who meet the following conditions are considered eligible for this funding opportunity: 1. Not-for-profit key population-led civil society organizations. A key population-led organization is an organization in which the majority of leadership and/or decision-making staff identify as members or former members of key population communities in which they serve. 2. Organizations registered with the Government of the Republic of Zambia 3. Must have experience of successfully implementing similar programs with funding of a minimum of $15,000. 4. Must have established offices at least 12 months prior to application submission. Organization must provide a support letter from the National Key Population Technical Working Group.