Deadline: 19-May-25
The Elton John Aids Foundation is requesting applications for its Equity Challenge Fund under the RADIAN 2.0 programme designed with the overall goal to measurably improve HIV-related health outcomes in the most affected territories in EECA by addressing the structural drivers of the HIV epidemic.
This opportunity is open to non-governmental organizations and community-based initiative groups that:
- Have relevant experience and capacity in the area of HIV and key populations; and
- Are located in one of 24 countries covered by the RADIAN 2.0 programme; and
- Are able to meet the Foundation’s due diligence requirements by the time the grant is awarded.
Objectives
- Deliver high-quality community-based services to address the unmet HIV-related needs of neglected KPs and PLHIV;
- Address structural drivers of the HIV epidemic to improve the quality of life of KPs and PLHIV and ultimately improve HIV-related health outcomes;
- Strengthen health systems to sustainably improve care for KPs and PLHIV;
- Strengthen community systems to deliver community-led care effectively and increase access to sustainable funding.
Funding Information
- The maximum budget that projects can apply for depends on the project’s objectives and the HIV prevalence in the location(s) of implementation, as follows:
- Territories with general HIV prevalence higher than 1%: up to $500,000
- Territories with general HIV prevalence less than 1%: up to $400,000
- Duration: Applicants can apply for projects lasting up to 36 months.
Expected Outcomes
- Under Strategic Objective 1: “Deliver high-quality community-based services to address the unmet HIV-related needs of neglected KPs and PLHIV”, projects should improve one or more specific HIV-related health outcomes in the territory(ies) of implementation by providing direct services to KPs and/or PLHIV. Illustrative interventions could include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Reducing all-cause mortality in KPs and PLHIV by providing overdose prevention and treatment interventions for PWUD; screening for TB and referral to TB treatment for PWUD, PLHIV, and prisoners; evidence-based drug treatment services, and other interventions;
- Improving HIV case finding by implementing behaviour risk screening, PLHIV partner notification and testing (index testing), social network testing strategy, recency testing, enhanced peer outreach, optimized case finding and other interventions;
- Increasing accessibility to HIV testing services (HTS) by decentralizing HTS, providing community-based and mobile rapid HTS, and implementing creative HIV testing approaches, such as home-based remote rapid self-testing, peer-assisted self-testing for KPs and PLHIV partners, or HTS in prisons and other closed settings while ensuring confidentiality and voluntary consent.
- Under Strategic Objective 2: “Address structural drivers of the HIV epidemic to improve the quality of life of KPs and PLHIV and ultimately improve HIV-related health outcomes”, projects should address one or more structural drivers of the HIV epidemic that foster significant HIV-related problems faced by one or more of the KPs most affected by HIV. Structural interventions at the macro level may focus on, but are not limited to:
- Changing policies and legislation that discriminate against PLHIV, KPs and their particularly vulnerable subgroups. These may include laws criminalizing HIV exposure and transmission, drug possession and use, or sex work; banning entry for migrant PLHIV; preventing outreach and counselling services for MSM and TG; and other regulations than disadvantageously single out KPs and PLHIV.
- Improving economic and social conditions for specific subpopulations, such as ethnic minorities, migrants and refugees, to reduce their behaviours that increase risk exposure to HIV. Interventions may include regulatory changes described above, as well as projects targeting specific groups of vulnerable individuals in specific locations.
- Modifying cultural and religious norms, as well public information to change society’s negative perception of PLHIV, KPs and their specific sub-populations. Examples of successful RADIAN models include training of religious leaders on the risks, needs and rights of PLHIV and KPs to change the attitudes of the general population through regular sermons; or social media campaigns to change the general public’s attitudes towards TG.
- Under Strategic Objective 3: “Strengthen health systems to sustainably improve care for KPs and PLHIV”, projects should make concrete sustainable improvements to existing systems to provide HIV services more effectively for key populations and/or PLHIV. Illustrative interventions include changes in one or more health system elements, such as:
- Service delivery: increase the types, quality, accessibility and coverage of services available for PLHIV and KPs in government health facilities.
- Governance: improve the basis on which decisions are made and services are provided (e.g. strategies), as well as mechanisms of how the decisions are made (e.g. the existence of patient boards at the facility level, or improving KP representation in coordinating councils at the country level).
- Finance: increase the amount of funding available for HIV-related services for KPs available at the community or facility level; or improving the effectiveness of how funds that are already allocated for PLHIV/KP services get spent.
- Under Strategic Objective 4: “Strengthen community systems to deliver community-led care effectively and increase access to sustainable funding”, projects should measurably strengthen the capacity of specific CSOs and community groups in several of the following capacity domains:
- Organizational strategy planning and implementation;
- Client needs assessment;
- The quality of services to PLHIV and KPs;
- Engagement with local communities of PLHIV and KP in their activities, as well community engagement into CSO activities.
Eligible Countries
- RADIAN 2.0 is focused on 24 countries of the EECA region: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Eligibility Criteria
- Implementation Location: Projects must be implemented in one of the 24 countries within the EECA region.
- Type of Applicant: They encourage Concept Notes and Applications from non-profit, academic and research organisations. They will consider Concept Notes and Applications from commercial entities if their participation is justified and there is no profit included into the project budget. Government entities may be consortium members.
- Consortia: Concept Notes and Applications are welcomed from consortia – or groups of partners working together to achieve the objectives – where each consortium partner brings unique strengths to achieve the expected results. Consortia should designate a lead applicant organisation to submit the Application. Concept Notes and Applications are equally welcomed from solo applicant organisations.
- Registration and Bank Account: The Applicant must be a registered entity and must have an active separate organisational bank account. Unregistered community groups with a strong track record of achieving results are welcome to apply, but must apply in consortium with a fiscal agent, which must be an officially registered entity.
- Completeness and Language: The Concept Note and Application and supporting documentation must be submitted in English or Russian; any other language will be considered ineligible. Submission forms must be completed in full to be considered eligible for review; incomplete submissions will be considered ineligible.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Ineligible entities include individuals and government entities.
For more information, visit Elton John AIDS Foundation.