Global Grants and Country-level Buy-ins

Under the Leader Award, legally-established non-governmental and community-based organizations working on a local, regional or worldwide basis in selected countries are eligible to apply for grants (please see our Grantees section for a current listing). Community REACH conducts competitive requests for applications (RFAs) to solicit partner organizations. Each RFA has both a technical and a geographical focus which are intended to fill gaps in existing HIV/AIDS programming globally. Technical areas of intervention encompass the entire HIV/AIDS prevention-to-care continuum.

In addition to global grants support, Community REACH has received USAID mission buy-in funds under the leader ward for the implementation of country-level activities in a number of countries. Pact’s Community REACH headquarters team directly supports buy-in programs by developing and approving buy-in program work plans, subgrant partner programs; monitoring, evaluation and reporting (MER) plans; subgrant agreements; and financial reporting requirements; as well as coordinating and training providers, identifying best practices and lessons learned; and fulfilling other reporting requirements as required by the donor.

Details about active buy-in projects follow.

Greater Mekong Region

The overall strategy of Pact’s GMR buy-in program is to focus on most at-risk populations (MARPs) as well as on geographic, “hot spots” in Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. At the request of the USAID Regional Development Mission of Asia (RDMA) in Bangkok, Pact Thailand is also supporting HIV/AIDS activities in Mongolia.

The GMR program encompasses many innovative approaches to reaching MARPS, including support of the Alden House. The Alden House, one of the very few organizations in Thailand that work with Injecting Drug Users (IDUs) who have been released from prisons. The organization’s objective is to provide those who abstain from drug use with the knowledge, skill and confidence to protect themselves from HIV infection, tools to maintain good health, and support for their re-integration to productive and viable society.

In Mongolia, Pact has been increasing the overall awareness of HIV through a multimedia approach and building the capacity of local organizations to provide information and services to most at-risk populations through a grant mechanism.

Namibia

Pact Namibia supports local NGO grantees providing services in prevention, and care for orphans and vulnerable children and PLHIV, including capacity building assistance, particularly in the area of management and organizational development.

With buy-in funds, Pact Namibia has provided ongoing assistance to Namibia’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare for the development of an orphans and vulnerable children database to assist in child registration and monitoring.

Haiti

Pact’s Community REACH Haiti program is focused on utilization of grants to strengthen capacity and service delivery of local NGOs/CBOs/FBOs. Through a competitive RFA process, Community REACH solicited applications for OVC activities. The emphasis of program activities is on strengthening communities to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS, supporting community-based responses, helping children and adolescents to meet their own needs, and creating a supportive environment where children can grow and develop into productive members of society. Community REACH awarded cooperative agreements to La Maison L’Arc En Ciel (MAEC), Foundation for Reproductive Health and Family Education (FOSREF) and Foundation of Compassionate American Samaritans (FOCAS). Under the Haiti buy-in, Community REACH also awarded a Stigma and Discrimination reduction grant to a local NGO; Promoteurs Objectif Zerosida (POZ). The POZ grant is focusing on the reduction of stigma and discrimination attitudes and behaviors among health care providers and traditional healers nationally.

Liberia

USAID Liberia provided funding to Community REACH to work with the Christian Health Association of Liberia (CHAL) to establish the HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Initiative. CHAL is a membership organization with five affiliate hospitals and thirty-nine health centers and clinics operating in twelve of the fifteen counties of Liberia. Based on Pact’s Ruvheneko program in rural Zimbabwe, the model proposed for Liberia is holistic, comprehensive, and church and community-based, and aims to increase the impact and reach of VCT in rural areas currently underserved. At the heart of the program is the VCT Center, integrated into and enhancing the HIV and AIDS programs and services provided by a mission hospital, the community surrounding that hospital, and the various churches/denominations within the community.

Peru

The objective of the buy-in activities under Pact’s Community REACH program in Peru is to increase the coverage and quality of STI/HIV/AIDS prevention interventions among the most vulnerable population groups in Lima-Callao, Iquitos, and Pucallpa; these are the cities with the highest HIV prevalence rates in Peru. The program provides grants that support initiatives from a selected group of NGOs and a national university, in areas such as condom social marketing, support for people living with HIV (PLHIV), epidemiological research, and other HIV prevention strategies. The activities conducted under this project targets specific vulnerable populations such as PLHIV, men who have sex with other man (MSM), sex workers (SW), transgender (TG) populations, prison population, in addition to targeting the general population.