Call for proposals: Regional component of the Regional Artemisinin-Resistance Initiative (RAI2E) Grant

Call for proposals: Regional component of the Regional Artemisinin-Resistance Initiative (RAI2E) Grant

Package #1: Expanding access to malaria prevention and case management services to underserved populations

Issuance date: July 26, 2017

Submission deadline: 23 August, 2017 (00:00:00, ICT)

The Regional Artemisinin-Resistance Initiative (RAI) Regional Steering Committee (RSC) is inviting proposals from nongovernmental organizations to implement malaria interventions to reach the most at-risk/hard-to-reach persons in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

The RAI was launched in 2013 in response to the emergence of artemisinin resistant malaria in the Greater Mekong Region. Funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the current grant (ending 2017) supported increased coverage of impregnated nets, malaria diagnosis and treatment, as well as case detection and surveillance, giving priority to areas of reported artemisinin resistance.

The regional component of the second phase of the grant (RAI2E) comprises seven ‘packages’ of funding. This Call for propsoals concerns the first package, which is dedicated to expanding access to malaria prevention and case management services to underserved mobile, migrant, ethnic and vulnerable populations (MMEVs) not already being addressed through the grant’s country components or other funding sources.

The countries of implementation are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. Applicants can apply for activities in one country or multiple countries (e.g. in cases where inter-country/cross-border activities are proposed). Applicants are invited to submit their proposals electronically to RAI2Eproposals@gmail.com.

Scope of work

Activities will complement the RAI2E country grants and extend essential malaria services to MMEVs that are currently underserved. Proposed projects should supplement, as an extension of the current systems and activities in the country; they should not duplicate or function as parallel systems.

At the national/sub-national levels, this means:

Collaborating with the national programme and other implementing partners at national and subnational levels to identify the entry points for added value.

At the operational level, this means:

Coordinating with public health facilities and community-based systems.

Linking with existing initiatives.

Ensuring the surveillance components of the proposed projects are linked with national surveillance and health information systems.

There are two complementary components (sub-packages) to the funding package. The first is meant to inform the second, while the second will feed information to the first providing an evidence-based intervention cycle. Applicants can apply for sub-package 1 separately, but must demonstrate how data collection/surveillance activities will support the targeting of prevention and case management activities implemented under sub-package 2. All applicants of sub-package 2 must include activities that address the evidence base, such as those listed in sub-package 1.

The overall available funding under this Call is as follows:

Sub-package 1 - Strengthening the evidence base for high risk groups, including MMEVs, to inform targeting of interventions: 2m USD.

Sub-package 2 - Expanding prevention and case management for hard-to-reach populations at risk: 12m USD.

Grant period

Implementation dates for the activities and budget cover the period of January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020.

More information

Full details of the Call including target populations, geographic scope and priority areas, scope of work and eligibility criteria are announced on the RAI public website: http://www.raifund.org/en/rsc/calls-for-proposals.

Guidance for applicants is available in the attached document and at this Dropbox link.