HIV-Quick Impact to local communities | MAPUTO PCO FY24 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for MAPUTO PCO FY24 01

The "HIV-Quick Impact to local communities" grant is a PEPFAR-funded opportunity managed by the U.S. Mission to Mozambique (through the PEPFAR Coordination Office in Maputo) that is designed to put small, direct awards into the hands of community-based organizations so they can run practical, community-driven HIV activities outside of traditional community-led monitoring (non-CLM). The overall idea is to respond to civil society feedback from COP23 planning by supporting locally led interventions that improve health literacy, strengthen HIV prevention and treatment outcomes, and reduce HIV- and TB-related stigma and discrimination. Projects are expected to contribute to Mozambique's National HIV Strategic Plan (PEN V) and align with PEPFAR Mozambique's Country Operational Plan 2023 priorities, with a strong emphasis on organizations that are rooted in the communities where the work will happen and can show a track record of delivering HIV services.

Geographically, the call prioritizes work in six provinces: Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Sofala, and Nampula. Applicants are expected to operate where they already have community representation, and the rules are explicit that organizations cannot implement in provinces or districts they do not belong to. Beneficiaries should be drawn from one or more vulnerable or priority groups, including people living with HIV (PLHIV); key populations (men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and people in prisons or other enclosed settings); pregnant and breastfeeding women; children (boys and girls); and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW/AYP). The program is built around the expectation that community organizations can reach groups that are often missed by facility-based services and can address barriers like stigma, discrimination, violence, and misinformation.

Funded activities must fit into at least one of three service categories. First is HIV prevention using targeted, evidence-based prevention programs, meaning the approach should use a defined curriculum or model, be implemented in a way that can be monitored, and have measurable outcomes with a history of positive results. Within prevention, the opportunity highlights work tied to sexual violence prevention, norms and behavior change, services tailored for key and priority populations, and gender-based violence (GBV) and post-GBV care linkages. Examples include creative communications to reduce stigma and improve ART adherence by spreading Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) and viral load messages, using existing PLHIV or key population networks and support groups to distribute accurate prevention and care information, and generating demand for PrEP, condoms, and other prevention options. Second is targeted HIV case finding, focused on identifying people who are HIV positive, testing those who have not been tested, and linking or re-linking them to antiretroviral treatment (ART), while also improving retention in care. Examples here include life skills and sexual and reproductive health education for in-school and out-of-school youth, and activities that increase demand for testing, including self-testing and other testing modalities. Third is community-based care and support for PLHIV (including children and adolescents) and for key and priority populations, such as case management, adherence clubs, psychosocial support, and tracking and tracing people who have interrupted treatment or are not virally suppressed, alongside community engagement to shift harmful norms and to reduce stigma, discrimination, GBV, and marginalization.

On funding structure, the Embassy expects to issue fixed amount awards, which means funding is tied to clear milestones and deliverables rather than reimbursing every line-item expense. Each milestone typically needs three things: what will be delivered, how completion will be documented (for example, submitting training materials, toolkits, surveys, or reports), and the amount paid when that deliverable is verified. This makes performance and results central, and it also means applicants should design proposals that can be broken into practical, checkable outputs. Programmatic costs can be supported across the permitted categories, including supplies and materials, transport, trainings tied to implementation, and certain administrative costs, as long as they are reasonable and connected to the proposed milestones. The notice lists an award ceiling of USD 20,000.

Eligibility is limited to registered, non-profit Mozambican community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations, key population networks, groups of people living with or affected by HIV, and organizations serving people with disabilities, as long as they have been operating for at least two years and serve HIV-affected, HIV-infected, and/or high-risk populations. Several groups are not eligible: individuals, for-profit entities, government institutions, multilateral bodies, and civil society organizations that are not truly community-based or representative (such as trade unions, professional associations, or internationally affiliated organizations with multi-country branches). Importantly, current PEPFAR implementing partners already funded for site-level service delivery are not eligible, including organizations receiving U.S. Government funding as a prime, sub-recipient, or consortium member under existing PEPFAR awards. Applicants also must provide recommendations from previous funding agencies showing successful implementation, and incomplete submissions are rejected.

The application package is fairly structured and has several compliance requirements that matter. All documents must be in English (an English proposal can include a Portuguese attachment, but a Portuguese-only submission is disqualifying), budgets must be in U.S. dollars, pages must be numbered, and documents must be formatted for A4 paper. Required components include the SF-424 and SF-424A forms, a half-page summary/cover sheet with organizational and project basics, and a proposal narrative capped at five pages. The proposal itself must cover: an organizational introduction with relevant experience and any prior U.S. Embassy/U.S. Government grants; clear, measurable goals and objectives; a concise project summary explaining the problem, the proposed activities, and the expected influence during and after the grant period; a timeline that shows implementation, monitoring, and reporting; and a monitoring and evaluation plan describing indicators and data collection to track progress against objectives and timelines. Applicants must also submit a narrative and detailed budget using the Embassy-provided templates, plus attachments including one-page CVs/resumes for key personnel and the recommendation letters or references from prior funders.

There are also federal registration requirements that can take time: organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and an active SAM.gov registration, renewed annually. The notice flags that SAM registration or renewal can take 4 to 8 weeks, so organizations are expected to start early. Only one proposal per organization is allowed, and submitting multiple proposals makes the applicant ineligible. Final funding levels for selected applicants can depend on pre-award risk assessments, which typically review financial management, internal controls, and ability to manage grant requirements.

For submission, applications had to be emailed to the PEPFAR Coordination Office at MaputoPepfarCommunityGrants@state.gov by September 18, 2023 at 5:30 PM. The announcement also notes that certain activities are restricted or not fundable, with details provided on the Embassy website, and applicants are directed there for the required forms and budget templates as well as the full list of funding restrictions. For questions, the same PEPFAR Coordination Office email serves as the main contact point.

• The U.S. Mission to Mozambique in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "HIV-Quick Impact to local communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.029.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-07-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-09-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for MAPUTO PCO FY24 01

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