Family Planning, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (FP/MNCH) Project in Afghanistan

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) intends to release a solicitation for a program titled Family Planning, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (FP/MNCH) Project in Afghanistan. This Pre-Solicitation Notice is released for informational purposes only. USAID intends to use full and open competition for the award which will be performed in Afghanistan. USAID intends to release the solicitation within the next 30 days. Please note that the solicitation number will change though the name of the program will not. Issuance of this notice does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the U.S. Government, nor does it commit the U.S. Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation of applications. The information is subject to modification and is in no way binding to the government. The USAID FP/MNCH Project will support the introduction, scale-up and sustainability of high-impact, family planning, maternal, newborn and child health (FP/MNCH) interventions in Afghanistan. Technical assistance provided through the project will primarily increase utilization of high quality FP/MNCH services through culturally-appropriate and cost-effective interventions to strengthen and enhance existing primary care services provided through the Ministry of Public Health’s (MoPH) Basic Package of Health Services (BPHS). The USAID FP/MNCH Project will also strengthen referral systems to Essential Package of Hospital Services (EPHS) at the provincial level towards improving the continuum of care, especially for vulnerable populations. Through innovation grants and targeted capacity building activities, the project will strengthen the ability of civil society organizations to apply high-impact solutions to address the most important causes of maternal mortality and under-five deaths, through innovation grants and targeted capacity building activities at the individual, household and community levels. The USAID FP/MNCH Project will provide technical leadership on FP/MNCH issues in Afghanistan by serving as a platform for increasing learning and knowledge sharing between a wide range of partners. Technical support will also be provided to partners to increase the availability and quality of BPHS services and institutionalize evidence-based interventions into the health system The project will realize verifiable results in four objectives: Objective 1: Increase access to and availability of sustainable health services at facility and community levels (LOE: 30%) Objective 2: Improve quality of equitable, gender-sensitive health care services (LOE: 35%) Objective 3: Increase community, household, and individual demand for health services (LOE: 20%) Objective 4: Strengthen MoPH’s stewardship of family planning, maternal, newborn, and child health programs (LOE: 15%) A separate solicitation notice will be issued with the final RFA. All questions and comments regarding this Program Description will be entertained once the RFA is released. USAID anticipates the final requirement, when publicized as an RFA, it will have a performance period of five years.