Deadline: 29-Jun-23
Positive Action invites applications to the 2023 Round 2 funding for Innovator Grants, focusing on proposals designed to implement community-based and community-led approaches for effective harm reduction and HIV prevention, testing, and treatment programming for communities who engage in chemsex in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
This Call for Proposals is focused on community-based and community-led approaches for effective harm reduction and HIV prevention, care and treatment programming for communities who engage in chemsex. This includes gay, bisexual men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, people who use drugs and those engaged in sex work.
Applications that are selected for funding, will be enrolled in a joint research study led by ViiV Healthcare Positive Action, to demonstrate the impact from the programming implemented on chemsex and document learning. This is in recognition that the sector would benefit from more evidence of good practice on chemsex programming to enable practitioners to use this for the South-East context and beyond. Research practices including confidentiality, privacy and data protection for project participants will be respected for the study. Positive Action will coordinate with successful applicants on the programme evaluations and the joint research study, during contracting stages.
Themes
- Community based awareness and education campaigns, including through the use of digital technologies. Targeted and relevant messaging through community dialogues and educational campaigns is key for creating demand for the vital uptake of harm reduction, sexual health (STIs) and HIV prevention and treatment services. Educational campaigns should aim to increase awareness of safer chemsex practices and HIV combination prevention methods, such as condom and lubricant use and use of PrEP options, as well as HIV treatment. As digital technologies such as the use of social media and dating apps is central to the chemsex world, the use of these platforms to raise awareness may be integrated in the interventions, if appropriate for the context. Applicants should highlight what community-based educational campaigns will be implemented to raise awareness and increase support for communities to access HIV, STIs and harm reduction services.
- Drive uptake of harm reduction and HIV prevention, care and treatment services: Applicants should outline how proposed intervention/s will drive demand and vital uptake of harm reduction, sexual health (STIs) and HIV services. This could include community outreach methods such as peer led approaches to increase drug education, safer sex interventions and first aid for chemsex contexts, STI and HIV testing and treatment services and provide community based and community led service delivery models such as HIV self-testing and linkage to PrEP and PEP, and ARVs for those living with HIV. Interventions may also consider addressing structural barriers such as stigma and discrimination from communities and service providers, which adversely impacts uptake of harm reduction, sexual health and HIV services from communities
- Drive uptake of mental health services: Communities that engage in chemsex, including people from the MSM and transgender community, experience personal challenges such as internalised stigma, substance dependency, and mental health issues. Applicants are invited to include interventions that provide mental health support which may include interventions that address internalised stigma, for example support groups and psychosocial support.
Funding Information
- Grants of up to £50,000 per year over two years, i.e. up to £100,000 over a two year period will be awarded.
Eligible Countries
- Positive Action would like to invite proposals from the following six countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam
Eligibility Criteria
- Positive Action is targeted at supporting communities affected by HIV.
- Any not-forprofit national or community-based organisation that represents, or is working with or for, affected communities is eligible to submit a proposal.
- Non-governmental organisations that can deliver change at a community level through their links with or representation of the communities affected.
- Current Momentum grantees of Positive Action are not eligible of this call.
For more information, visit ViiV Healthcare.