Malaria Communities Program FY07 RFA

The President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) is pleased to announce the release of the FY 2007 Malaria Communities Program (MCP) Request for Applications (RFA).  The MCP was announced by First Lady Laura Bush at the White House Malaria Summit on December 14, 2006.  This Program will support the efforts of local organizations to combat malaria in the 7 initial PMI focus countries: Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.  Organizations awarded under the MCP are expected to work under the leadership of the USAID Mission with the support of the PMI team (comprised of USAID and CDC staff) and in coordination and partnership with the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP), existing PMI partners, and with a range of other malaria stakeholders in country.  The primary beneficiary groups of the MCP are children under five and pregnant women.

Specifically, the MCP will identify and enable organizations to become new partners in malaria control, aiming to:

·        Identify and support potential new partner organizations and networks of community-based organizations uniquely positioned to work at the community level

·         Support local capacity to undertake community-based malaria prevention and treatment activities.

·        Build local ownership of malaria control for the long-term in partnership with communities and NMCPs.

·        Extend coverage of PMI and NMCP efforts to reach a larger beneficiary population with malaria prevention and control interventions.

RFA Eligibility Requirements:

The MCP is a competitive assistance program open to new U.S. Government partners including U.S.-based non-governmental organizations/private voluntary organizations and in-country non-governmental organizations and their local partners.  New partners are those that have not been awarded in excess of $5 million in total, direct U.S. Government funding over the five years prior to submission of an application.  This RFA is limited to the 7 initial PMI focus countries: Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.  For more information on eligibility requirements and new partner definition, refer to Section III, A. Eligibility Requirements of the RFA, available at http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13262&mode=VIEW, or from the USAID Mission in the countries listed above.  Proposals must be submitted in English.

Available Funding and Awards:

This FY07 RFA is the first RFA under the MCP.  Applicants may submit proposals for a maximum of $1.5 million per total award to be used over a 3-5 year period.  It is anticipated that the awards made under this FY07 RFA will be made by September 30, 2007 pending pre-award audits and completed final negotiations, with project start-up beginning immediately thereafter.  Pending the availability of funds, it is anticipated that 3-5 awards will be made under this RFA.  Also pending the availability of funds, it is anticipated that in FY08 the second RFA under the MCP will be issued.   

MCP FY07 RFA Workshop

There will be a MCP RFA Workshop for interested applicants on April 10, 2007 at the Hotel Washington, 15th & Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004.  For interested organizations that will be unable to attend, all presentations, materials and Q&As from this workshop will be available at www.fightingmalaria.gov.

Applications in response to this RFA are due by 10:00 AM EDT on May 31, 2007.  The complete RFA can be found at: http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?oppId=13262&mode=VIEW.  

Please send all questions about the RFA in writing to Jamie Beck (jbeck@usaid.gov), in the Office of Acquisitions and Assistance at USAID by April 24.  In early May, an amendment to the RFA will be posted that answers all questions received by Ms. Beck.  Selected questions received by April 8 will be answered at the workshop in Washington.

 Additional information about the MCP can be found on the PMI website at:  www.fightingmalaria.gov.