Deadline: 26-May-21
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Adolescent Girls and Young Women Reaching their Dreams program.
Developed by PEPFAR, DREAMS is an ambitious approach to programming for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). The goal for DREAMS programming is to help girls develop into Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe women. Since its inception, the DREAMS approach has been implemented as a public private partnership in ten sub-Saharan African countries. In 2015, USAID/Zimbabwe began implementing programming using the DREAMS approach. Since that time, HIV diagnoses among AGYW have reduced by approximately 44 percent in DREAMS districts in Zimbabwe, achieving the highest reduction among all DREAMS countries. The new Adolescent Girls and Young Women Reaching their DREAMS Activity will play a central role in advancing DREAMS programming in Zimbabwe.
This Activity has three intermediate results, which map to USAID/Zimbabwe’s DO2:
- Intermediate Result 1: Increased access of AGYW to high-impact HIV prevention services and activities according to the DREAMS package: The Recipient will employ effective approaches to identify AGYW most vulnerable to HIV and assess them for eligibility to the DREAMS package according to a standardized Eligibility Screening tool. The Recipient will administer a standardized HIV Risk and Vulnerability assessment to all AGYW before enrollment and deliver the DREAMS Zimbabwe primary service package, differentiated by age, to eligible AGYW.
- Intermediate Result 2: Strengthened capacity of families and communities to provide a safe and supportive environment for AGYW: The Recipient will implement practical, measurable, evidence-informed approaches to mobilize parents/caregivers of adolescent girls and community stakeholders/influencers as active participants in DREAMS.
- Intermediate Result 3: Strengthened systems for planning, coordinating, monitoring, and assuring the quality of programs for AGYW: The success of this Activity relies heavily on strong coordination mechanisms due to the multisectoral nature of the program and the many partners involved in service delivery. Working hand in hand with the NAC structure, the Recipient will play a lead role, on behalf of the DREAMS Zimbabwe network, in coordinating DREAMS at the district level.
Funding Information
- USAID intends to award one or more Cooperative Agreement(s) pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide up to $70,000,000 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.
Eligibility Criteria
- Only local organizations as defined below are eligible for award. USAID defines a “local entity” as an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:
- Is legally organized under the laws of Zimbabwe; and
- Has as its principal place of business or operations in Zimbabwe; and
- Is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of; and
- Is managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the country receiving assistance.
- For purposes of this section, ‘majority owned’ and ‘managed by’ include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization’s managers or a majority of the organization’s governing body by any means.
- USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=332498