Deadline: 15 March 2017
The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative For Eastern Africa (OSIEA) is seeking applications for its Small Grants Programme to support Strategic Advocacy for Palliative Care and Access to Essential but Controlled Pain Medications initiatives in four East African countries of: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.
Strategic advocacy for palliative care aims to influence decision makers to take steps to advance the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of palliative care. Access to essential controlled medicines is central to the provision of quality palliative care services. The May 2014 World Health Assembly Palliative Care Resolution (WHA 67-19) recognizes that access to palliative care and to essential medicines including opioid analgesics such as morphine for pain control, contributes to the realization of the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and well-being.
The programme aims to influence changes on health, medicines policies and laws to allow for improved access by patients who need palliative care and pain relief services. It is also expected to influence the allocation of local funding towards access to palliative care and controlled medicines. This programme also aims to bring more advocates on board to influence changes on this important public health issue, from other fields of health and human rights.
Funding Information
Funding is primarily for one-off projects, with duration of no more than one year. The size of grants will range from USD 2000 – USD 6000.
Funding Priorities
- Review and/or change of laws, regulations and public policy to improve access to palliative care and access to controlled medicines;
- Development of legal and human rights frameworks for palliative care;
- Budget analysis, advocacy and allocation;
- Political and public debates on palliative care and access to pain medicines;
- Behavioural and attitudinal change including awareness creation among policy makers about palliative care and pain relief;
- Improving supply chain mechanisms for controlled medicines, including the engagement of key players and advocates from other fields of health and human rights;
- Media engagement;
- Strategic communication (reframing palliative care and access to controlled medicines, changing the narrative).
- Domestication of global and regional frameworks, strategies and tools aimed at increasing access to palliative care and pain relief.
The following considerations will be taken into account in the selection of successful applicants for the small grants:
- Projects which aim to make governments accountable to the global, regional and national commitments towards palliative care and pain relief.
- Project alignment with and contributing to the achievement of the national, regional and global goals and objectives for palliative care and pain relief (i.e. WHA Resolution; Universal Coverage; Sustainable Development Goals; UN Political Declaration on NCDs; national palliative care policies and strategies etc).
- Projects that aim to get palliative care and access to controlled medicines onto the agenda of the East African Community, as an important development issue for the region.
- Projects that aim to use advocacy lessons from other fields of health and human rights.
- Projects that aim to develop and mentor new advocates for palliative care and access to controlled medicines.
- Projects that magnify the voices of palliative care patients and their families.
How to Apply
Applicants can apply via given website.
Eligible Countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda
For more information, please visit Small Grants Programme.