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Issuance Date: June 12, 2018 Deadline for Questions: June 18,
2018 at 9:00 AM EDT/1:00 PM GMT Closing Date: July 5, 2018 at 9:00
AM EDT/1:00 PM GMT Subject: Advancing Partners & Communities
RFA No. GH - 027
Sustaining Health Facility Improvements in Sierra Leone
The Advancing Partners & Communities Program in Sierra Leone
invites Applications from legally registered entities in Sierra
Leone that meet the following minimum requirements:
• Demonstrated expertise and experience in community resource
mobilization and advocacy;
• Experience in Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation (WASH)
infrastructure improvements; • Experience working in at least two
of the following districts in the past five years:
o Bombali; Port Loko; Tonkolili
Note: These minimum criteria can be met by individual
organizations or through partnerships when submitting your
application in response to this RFA.
The grant awarded under this solicitation will be a subgrant
under the Advancing Partners & Communities Project implemented
by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) and its
partner FHI 360. Advancing Partners & Communities is a United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded
Cooperative Agreement awarded to JSI for the purpose of providing
technical assistance, grants, and management services on behalf of
USAID’s Bureau of Global Health and USAID Country Missions.
It is anticipated that one grant covering a nine-month period
will be awarded. The maximum funding available for this grant is
US$900,000.
Strategic Overview:
In response to the Government of Sierra Leone’s commitment to,
and USAID’s recent investments in restoring essential health
services at the health post level, the overarching objective of the
grant issued under this RFA is:
To prompt health posts and their local stakeholders to identify
community-driven solutions that would lead to mobilization of
community and district resources, for addressing service quality
and health facility maintenance and preventive maintenance (M/PM)
needs on an ongoing basis.
By engaging at the community level through community-based
approaches, the program will empower communities to contribute to
the maintenance and preventive maintenance of the facility, whether
in-kind (human resources, materials, etc.), financial, or both.
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By engaging at the district level, through partnership and
advocacy with government institutions and private sector entities,
the program will develop a solid knowledge and skill base to better
plan and allocate resources for health facility maintenance
(repairs) and preventive maintenance.
To achieve success, collaboration with the District Health
Management Teams (DHMTs) and District Councils, and other local
stakeholders (where they exist at community and district level),
will be essential. Partnerships with other organizations will be
encouraged, particularly with local community and/or grassroots
organizations.
Background:
Under the Post-Ebola Recovery of Health Services (PERHS)
program, between July 2015 and September 2017, Advancing Partners
& Communities renovated 70 facilities in the Bombali, Port
Loko, and Tonkolili districts1 – repairing physical facility needs,
improving access to water, addressing waste management and
sanitation weaknesses, and providing solar power for facility
lighting and pumping water from new boreholes and refurbished hand
dug wells. The program also supported the strengthening of skills
and knowledge of health facility staff and Community Health Workers
(CHWs).
In these facilities, the PERHS program also supported the
establishment of Facility Management Committees (FMCs) as a primary
link between the health facility (HF) and the various communities
within the catchment area. In these districts, USAID and other
development partners have supported the establishment and
implementation of Village Saving Groups (VSGs) or Village Savings
and Loans Associations (VSLAs), Mother to Mother Groups (M2Ms),
Village Development Committees (VDCs), and other community groups
to strengthen community engagement and resilience.
Application Framework Overview:
We encourage all Applicants to read the RFA in its entirety and
ensure that the Application submitted addresses all of the items
listed in the Application Instructions (Section B) and in the
Technical Evaluation Criteria (Section C). Advancing Partners &
Communities will upload any amendments to this RFA as well as the
responses to questions on the Advancing Partners & Communities
website (https://www.advancingpartners.org/).
Applications must be submitted in English by July 5, 2018 at
9:00 AM EDT/1:00 PM GMT. Applications submitted after the closing
date/time will not be considered. One (1) electronic copy of the
Application should be sent to [email protected]. Multiple
Applications from one organization will not be accepted.
1 An additional 40 facilities were renovated in Western Area
Urban (20) and Western Area Rural (20) and a range of other
interventions were carried out in an additional 195 health
facilities in these five districts.
2
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:https://www.advancingpartners.org
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The Request for Application consists of this announcement and
the following:
Section A – Program Description Section B – Application
Instructions Section C – Eligibility Selection Process, and
Evaluation Criteria Attachment 1 – Past Performance Information
Table Attachment 2 – Summary and Detailed Budget Template
Attachment 3 – Budget Notes Template Attachment 4 – Preliminary
Monitoring & Evaluation Plan Template Attachment 5 –
Preliminary Workplan Template Attachment 6 – Community Engagement
Concept Note Attachment 7 – List of SHFI targeted facilities
Attachment 8 – Summary of mapping exercise in the three
districts
Any questions concerning this solicitation should be submitted
by email to [email protected] by June 18, 2018 at 9:00 AM EDT/1:00
PM GMT. A list of all questions and the responses to these
questions will be posted on the Advancing Partners &
Communities website (https://www.advancingpartners.org/) no later
than June 21, 2018. Advancing Partners & Communities will also
upload any amendments to the RFA on this website, if needed.
If you encounter problems accessing the solicitation, please
email [email protected].
Applications will be reviewed by a Technical Evaluation
Committee that will evaluate the Applications according to the
criteria provided within Section C.
The Applicant will be expected to meet all reporting
requirements of USAID for Advancing Partners & Communities,
including the submission of a monthly performance narrative
progress report; a monthly monitoring and evaluation report; a
monthly expenditure pipeline report, and quarterly financial
reports. Specific reporting templates and guidelines will be
provided.
Issuance of this solicitation, or the submission of an
Application, does not constitute a grant commitment on the part of
the United States Government (USG) or JSI, , nor does it commit the
USG or JSI, to pay for costs incurred in the preparation or
submission of an Application. The USG or JSI, reserves the right
not to fund any of the Applications received. All recommendations
for funding are contingent on the approval of the Agreement
Officer’s Representative at USAID.
Thank you for your consideration of this initiative. We look
forward to your organization’s participation.
Sincerely, Stephen Katz, Finance Director Advancing Partners
& Communities Project JSI Research & Training Institute,
Inc.
3
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:https://www.advancingpartners.orgmailto:[email protected]
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Advancing Partners & Communities Project, RFA No. GH - 027
Sustaining Health Facility Improvements in Sierra Leone
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATION LIST
...........................................................................................................................5
SECTION A: PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION..................................................................................................6
A1. Background
.....................................................................................................................................
6
A2. Introduction
....................................................................................................................................
6
A3. Technical
Approach.........................................................................................................................
8
A4. Program
Management..................................................................................................................15
A5. Application Requirements
............................................................................................................16
A6. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and
Learning..........................................................................16
SECTION B: APPLICATION
INSTRUCTIONS..........................................................................................17
B1. Application Guidelines
..................................................................................................................17
B2. Technical Application
....................................................................................................................17
SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY, SELECTION PROCESS AND EVALUATION
CRITERIA.........................................22
C1. Introduction
..................................................................................................................................22
C2. Eligibility
........................................................................................................................................22
C3. Selection Process
..........................................................................................................................22
C4. Technical Evaluation
Criteria.........................................................................................................23
C5. Weighting of Technical Evaluation
Criteria...................................................................................25
SECTION D: ATTACHMENTS
..............................................................................................................26
Attachment 1: Past Performance Information
Table..........................................................................26
Attachment 2: Summary and Detailed Budget
Template...................................................................27
Attachment 3: Budget Notes Template
..............................................................................................28
Attachment 4: Preliminary Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Template..............................................30
Attachment 5: Preliminary Workplan
Template.................................................................................31
Attachment 6: Community Engagement Concept Note
.....................................................................32
Attachment 7: List of SHFI Program Targeted
Facilities......................................................................35
Attachment 8: Summary of Mapping Exercise in 3
Districts...............................................................37
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ABBREVIATION LIST
AOR Agreement Officer’s Representative CHC Community Health
Center CHP Community Health Post CHW Community Health Worker DMHT
District Management Health Team EMONC Emergency Obstetrics and
Newborn Care EVD Ebola Virus Disease FBO Faith-Based Organization
FMC Facility Management Committee HSRP Health Sector Recovery Plan
IPC Infection Prevention and Control KAP Knowledge, Attitudes, and
Practices M/PM Maintenance (Repairs) and Preventive Maintenance MSG
Mother Support Groups MCH Maternal and Child Health MCHP Maternal
and Child Health Post MOHS Ministry of Health and Sanitation NICRA
Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement PPE Personal Protective
Equipment RFA Request for Applications RMNCH Reproductive,
Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health SOP Standard Operating
Procedures SOW Statement of Work TBA Traditional Birth Attendant
TOT Training of Trainers UN United Nations USAID United States
Agency for International Development USG United States Government
WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
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SECTION A: PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
A1. Background In 2014-16, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia
experienced the most severe EVD outbreak ever recorded, a situation
that caused terrible suffering, high morbidity and mortality, and
serious setbacks to the health care system. More than 14,000 total
cases of EVD in Sierra Leone were reported2, of which 8,706 cases
were confirmed by laboratory testing3. With nearly 4,000 reported
deaths due to EVD, Sierra Leone is the most affected country in the
West Africa region and the world. While all 14 districts in Sierra
Leone were affected by the outbreak, the impact was
disproportionate across districts, with Bombali, Kailahun, Kenema,
Port Loko, Western Area Rural, and Western Area Urban each having
more than 500 confirmed cases.
Advancing Partners & Communities is a seven year United
States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded project
implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI)
with partner FHI 360. The program seeks to advance and support
community programs to improve the overall health of individuals and
communities and improve health-related indicators. Advancing
Partners & Communities provides global leadership for community
health systems, mobilization, and community-based programming;
executes and manages small and medium-sized grants; and builds the
capacity of organizations to manage and implement effective
programs through technical assistance.
A2. Introduction Since 2015, the Advancing Partners &
Communities Project has received funding from USAID’s “Ebola
Response and Preparedness” initiative for several programs. These
funds were authorized by the U.S. Congress to address the 2014-16
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa.
These programs include: 1. The Post-Ebola Recovery of Health
Services (PERHS) program in Sierra Leone (July 2015-
September 2017), 2. The Ebola Transmission Prevention &
Survivor Services (ETP&SS) program in Guinea,
Liberia and Sierra Leone (June 2016-September 2018), 3. The
Regional Collaboration and Learning program (Best Practices and
Lessons Learned)
for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone (October 2016-September
2018), 4. The Sustaining Health Facility Improvements (SHFI)
program in Sierra Leone (began
January 2018).
As shown above, USAID has been active in their support of health
systems recovery in Sierra Leone through JSI/Advancing Partners and
others. The SOW/program description for the SHFI health facility
M/PM program came primarily from USAID’s desire to:
2
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.html
3
http://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.ebola-sitrep.ebola-summary-20160511?lang=en
6
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/case-counts.htmlhttp://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.ebola-sitrep.ebola-summary-20160511?lang=en
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(1) Ensure that the investments made under the Post-Ebola
Recovery of Health Services (PERHS) program are maintained, and (2)
Support the development of community-led, community-owned health
facility maintenance/preventive maintenance (M/PM) efforts.
This RFA is funded through the SHFI program which contributes to
maintaining the investments at health facilities targeted through
the PERHS program. The PERHS program utilized a comprehensive
approach to support health system recovery, targeting health posts
(HPs) and the primary care/community level, and including facility
rehabilitations, which emphasized infection prevention and control
(IPC) practices and the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) structures, including solar powered facility-wide lighting.
PERHS supported facility rehabilitation at 110 health posts in five
USAID priority districts: Bombali, Port Loko, Tonkolili, and
Western Area Rural and Urban. This RFA is focused in three of the
five districts that the PERHS program supported earlier,
specifically Bombali, Port Loko, and Tonkolili4.
This document describes the rationale, application process, and
evaluation criteria used to determine the winning Application. This
solicitation is specifically intended for organizations with a
demonstrable experience in identifying community-driven solutions,
including the mobilization of local resources (at community and
district levels) for social purposes; improving WASH
infrastructure; and organizations who have had a presence in at
least two of the three districts in the past five years (as an
organization or in partnership).
The grant to be awarded through this RFA will carry out
activities to support the achievement of the following overall
program objectives, in coordination with JSI and other Advancing
Partners & Communities stakeholders:
Objective 1: Develop guidelines, tools, and procedures for
assessing and monitoring facility maintenance and preventive
maintenance (M/PM) needs, and for documenting and developing a set
of M/PM “minimum standards” for health posts, while also ensuring
that the PERHS “full package” facilities in the three districts are
maintained through program and/or local support.
Objective 2: Mobilize and strengthen the utilization of district
and community human and financial resources for the support of M/PM
needs at selected “full package” PERHS facilities.
Objective 3: Work with national government and district leaders
(DHMTs and DCs) to mobilize support for M/PM interventions within
their current and future programs and budgets.
It is anticipated that initially, one grant, covering a
nine-month period, will be awarded. The maximum funding available
for this grant is US$900,000.
4 Western Area Urban and Western Area Rural were excluded due to
funding and timeline constraints.
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A3. Technical Approach
General Guiding Principles:
The Advancing Partners & Communities SHFI program is guided
by the following principles, and all activities funded under this
grants process shall:
• Ensure that Advancing Partners & Communities and grantee
activities are aligned with MOHS policies and priorities.
• Build on existing platforms developed under the PERHS and
ETP&SS programs, by the MOHS and/or by DHMTs, or by other
partners, and collaborate with these partners as required.
• Support FMCs as the center of the health facility-community
support hierarchy in terms of roles and responsibilities.
• Support for and maximize use of local community and district
level resources for maintenance solutions that can be managed /
implemented in a quality manner through volunteer and other locally
accessed human and/or financial resources.
• Focus on immediate program interventions while also supporting
long-term thinking about facility resilience and ongoing community
support for these facilities after the program ends.
• Support resiliency of health services and physical facilities
at the health post level. • Ensure gender-equitable strategies and
engagement.
Geographic Priority Areas:
This program will focus on selected PERHS facilities in the
following districts: • Bombali; Port Loko; Tonkolili
Pre-RFA Activities conducted by JSI/Advancing Partners:
Note: The activities listed in this section are activities that
are currently being carried out or completed by the SHFI program to
better inform program activities that will be carried in the
districts by JSI and the selected partner.
Facility Assessment: A facility assessment will be conducted for
all 70 PERHS “full package” facilities in these three districts
(see attachment 7 for the full list) to determine (and document):
(1) the condition of the physical facilities, facility systems, and
equipment as of May 2018, with emphasis on the changes to the PERHS
investments, (2) the status of each facility’s medical equipment
and furniture, and (3) the status of each facility’s Facility
Management Committee (FMC), with focus on what they have been doing
since they were actively supported
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under the PERHS program.5 Qualitative interviews will also be
held with the three DHMTs to determine current activities related
to maintenance and with selected FMCs to provide more in-depth
information on FMC roles and activities since PERHS.
District No. of
facilities to be assessed
Type of assessment at each facility
Bombali 24 • Physical Facility • Minor Medical Equipment (MME)
& Furniture • FMC Status
Port Loko 22 Tonkolili 24
Expected contributions of the Facility Assessment to the Overall
Program: The assessment will determine the condition of each
facility in terms of physical facilities, facility systems, and
equipment and furniture. It will also provide a comprehensive
understanding of the “current state” of the Facility Management
Committee connected to each of the 70 facilities. This information
will be packaged into facility summaries which will be provided to
the selected grantee(s) selected through this RFA process and which
will be utilized to help the grantee “hit the ground” running.
Mapping: Using information regarding existing VSGs/VSLAs, Mother
to Mother Support Groups (MSGs), and Village Development Committees
provided to the program by previous and current USAID partners
(e.g. World Vision, ACDI/VOCA, UNICEF) and the MOHS, the program
has conducted a mapping exercise to confirm the presence of
pre-existing community groups within the catchment areas of the 70
PERHS “full package” facilities.
The primary aim of this mapping exercise was to find (and
select) at minimum 35 facilities / communities (exact number TBD)
where the facility’s coverage area overlaps with a number of active
VSGs/VSLAs, MSGs, and/or VDCs. The successful Applicant will work
with these community organizations and groups, targeted to serve as
a base for resource mobilization activities in coordination with
the facility’s FMC (as described in Objective 2 and the related
Activities). It is the Applicant’s responsibility to describe how
it will engage with these types community groups to accomplish the
program’s objectives.
Program Summary, Activities and Interventions, and Illustrative
Targets and Indicators
Summary of Key Strategies
Within the Scope of Work/Program Description adopted by USAID in
March 2018 for the SHFI program, there are a number of key
strategies, as follows:
5 The scope, methodology and survey questions have been
developed by JSI/APC, and we anticipate that the selected grantee
will have completed the full assessment by the time this RFA
process is resolved.
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• The primary foci of this program will be to: (1) develop
guidelines, tools, and procedures for assessing, monitoring,
resolving, and documenting facility M/PM needs; (2) ensure that all
of the PERHS 70 “full package” facilities are maintained
(operational) through local support and/or program investments (in
line with the minimum WASH and IPC standards as defined by the
MOHS) when the program ends in 2019.
• The guidelines, tools and procedures mentioned above will also
define roles and responsibilities for facility staff, FMCs and
other community organizations in relation to M/PM activities.
• In support of M/PM needs at these “full package” PERHS
facilities, the program will work extensively at the community
level to mobilize local volunteer and other in-kind and financial
resources from the communities within each facility’s coverage
area.
• The community work will include a number of interrelated
activities, including: (a) building skills and operational capacity
of facility staff, FMCs, and other community representatives in
order to provide a portion of the needed M/PM support at the
selected facilities, (b) developing and testing community-based
solutions and relationships to address M/PM challenges by
identifying local private sector resources via FMCs, VSGs/VSLAs,
and other community organizations, and (c) supporting the FMCs and
VDCs to communicate and advocate with DHMTs and District Councils
to allocate district level resources for M/PM.
• The program intends to actively work with national and
district authorities in the three districts (District Councils and
DHMTs) to mobilize support for M/PM interventions within their
current and future programs and budgets (technical capacity,
monitoring tools, financial resources, etc.).
• The program should actively seek to mobilize additional
resources from public and private sector donors.
Based on the current budget, the SOW/ Program Description
assumes a start date in August 2018, with field activities ending
in April 2019.
Applicants should reflect the implementation of the above
strategies within their technical proposal.
Key Activities, Illustrative Interventions, Targets and
Indicators
The tables presented below in this section list, in the left
column, descriptions of the USAID-approved key activities, and in
the right column, illustrative interventions that the grantee might
address in support of the program’s objectives.
Objective 1: Develop guidelines, tools, checklists and
procedures for assessing and monitoring facility maintenance and
preventive maintenance (M/PM) needs, and for documenting and
developing a set of M/PM “minimum standards” for health posts,
while also ensuring that the PERHS “full package” facilities in the
three districts are maintained through program and/or local
support.
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This objective is focuses on building systems and tools for the
DHMTs in terms of M/PM planning and implementation, with the
overall goal of having the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and
the DHMTs more involved with facility M/PM in the long term.
Key Activity (per the USAID-approved workplan)
Responsible Party(ies) and Illustrative Interventions
Key Activity 1.1: Assess PERHS “full package” facilities to
determine (and document) physical facility, facility systems, and
equipment breakdowns and/or condition from the time the initial
PERHS investments were completed.
JSI will lead. We anticipate that the selected grantee will have
completed all components of the assessment by the time this RFA
process is resolved.
Key Activity 1.2: Develop guidelines, tools JSI will lead.
Grantee will be asked to actively and procedures to manage, assess,
and contribute on the development of M/PM monitor M/PM activities
at the district, documentation, which may include guidelines and
community and facility levels, which are minimum facility
standards, including for WASH, IPC, approved and adopted, as
appropriate, by and solar lighting. the MOHS. Key Activity 1.3:
Analyze and document the M/PM requirements and associated costs for
maintaining health facilities (including WASH/IPC infrastructure)
at a level consistent with the provision of quality health
services.
JSI will lead. This modeling will be completed by JSI/APC in
conjunction with the MOHS and partners. Grantee is expected to
provide inputs, as requested. It is extremely important to note
that the modelling will be based on the information reported by the
grantees during the monthly narrative reports.
Key Activity 1.4: Assess community Grantee will lead. As with
all activities at the facility willingness, M/PM skills, and
knowledge of and community levels, this activity will be led by the
facility staff, FMC members, community grantee. This will be a
priority activity in terms of the volunteers, DHMTs and District
Councils schedule, as the findings will lead to the development
(DCs), in order to determine (and of a skill building training
program developed in document) local interest and capacity to
conjunction with JSI. support M/PM activities at the health JSI
will support finalizing and approvals of the facility (including
budget and/or assessment methodology and tools. expenditures for
M/PM currently or previously available at the district level). Key
Activity 1.5: Develop minimum quality JSI will lead. We expect to
develop and guide, in standards and specifications for M/PM
conjunction with the MOHS, a Working Group that will program,
including WASH and IPC (e. g. support the strengthening of the
MOHS’ existing water wells, waste management, building quality
standards for WASH and IPC in health facilities, infrastructure),
and solar lighting, which in order to include maintenance
requirements. The are then approved / adopted by the grantee is
expected to actively participate and MOHS. contribute in this MOHS
working group; at times in a
secretariat or facilitator capacity.
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Objective 2: Mobilize and strengthen the utilization of district
and community human and financial resources for the support of M/PM
needs at selected “full package” PERHS facilities.
This objective and its related activities target the program’s
overarching objective for creating community involvement and
building community support for the maintenance and preventive
maintenance needs of local health facilities. This objective is the
core of the grantee’s roles, as the activities are focused on the
facility/community level (See Attachment 5, Community Engagement
Concept Note, for more information.)
The illustrative interventions, along with the attachments
referenced in this section, are provided to guide understanding of
the various roles and responsibilities that the grantee will have
while working with the 70 “full package” PERHS facilities. These
may not be the actual tasks and activities that the grantee(s)
selects for working with these facilities, their FMCs, the existing
VSGs/VSLAs, M2Ms, VDCs and other community groups; rather, they are
illustrative tasks and activities that might be used to achieve the
resource mobilization objectives of the overall SHFI program.
For Objective 2, we anticipate that the grantee will select at
least 35 facilities (from the 70 “full package” PERHS facilities
included in Attachment 7), where the facility assessment, the
mapping exercise, and the community assessment (key activity 1.4)
have identified that (1) the FMC is active, (2) the facility’s
coverage area overlaps with a number of active savings groups and
VDCs, and (3) there is potential for successful resource
mobilization in the coverage area on behalf of the M/PM needs at
the facility. The grantee should be able to plan and demonstrate a
critical pathway to engage and support various community level
groups (e.g. VSGs/VSLAs, M2Ms, etc.) and facilitate linkages of
those groups with the FMCs (and VDCs) and subsequently with the
DHMT and District Councils.
For all of the other facilities, the grantee is requested to
describe how will implement a M/PM and resource mobilization
strategy building upon the leadership of the FMC (and VDC).
Key Activity (per the USAID-approved workplan)
Responsible Party(ies) and Illustrative Interventions
Key Activity 2.1: For the purposes of capacity building and
local engagement, utilize the findings of the facility/community
assessment to develop local action plans for facility M/PM needs in
conjunction with the community team (facility staff, FMCs, local
leaders, etc.).
Grantee will lead. As the grantee(s) starts engaging with these
facilities / communities, one of the 1st steps will be to work with
the FMC and community groups to develop a local action plan for
addressing M/PM needs. A highlight of these plans will be planning
for, and implementing, local solutions. The action plan will build
upon the facility improvement plan template created as part of the
FMC Policy and Operational Guidelines launched by the MOHS in the
fall of 2017. It is expected that action plans will be monitored on
a monthly basis and be updated at least quarterly.
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Key Activity 2.2: Develop and test Grantee will lead. This is
one of the core activities community-based solutions and within the
workplan as it highlights the relationships to address M/PM
overarching objective of local ownership and use challenges by
identifying local private of local resources to address basic M/PM
sector resources via FMCs, problems. A number of intervention could
be VSGs/VSLAs, and other community implemented by the grantee, such
as: organizations. Where feasible, this • Support regular
engagement of the FMCs into may include engagement with M/PM
activities at health facilities and community
level (i.e. training of FMCs on M/PM and on funds
community-based organizations led by management; regularly support
update of facility women and youth, such as Barefoot improvement
action plan (FIAP); facilitate creation Women, etc. of
relationships between FMCs and community groups; etc.).
• Engage in community mobilization resource initiatives to
support M/PM activities at the health facility level (i.e. engage
existing VSGs/VSLAs and other community groups in M/PM activities;
identify innovative ways to develop new community groups; provide
matching funds or seed funding programs; identify and test new
community resource mobilization avenues, such as taxation,
etc.).
• Facilitate / promote local accountability mechanisms (i.e.
community scorecards).
Key Activity 2.3: Provide facility staff, Grantee will lead.
This activity aims to strengthen ocal managers and community local
capacity for managing and monitoring M/PM takeholders (specifically
FMCs and tasks. A number of interventions could be ther identified
community leaders) implemented by the grantee, such as: ith the
planning and management • Build capacity of facility staff, local
managers
ools and skills needed to manage and (DHMTs and DCs) and
community members with onitor local basic M/PM the planning and
management tools and
esponsibilities. maintenance skills needed to plan, manage and
monitor local M/PM responsibilities (including for solar panels and
batteries, wells and pumps).
• Support FMC, VDCs and other structured community groups
engagement with district level authorities in M/PM matters.
lsowtmr
It is expected that JSI and MOHS/DHMTs will be routinely
consulted throughout the process of eveloping the specific
parameters and content for the skill building/training programs.
d
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Objective 3: Work with the national government and district
leaders (DHMTs and DCs) to mobilize support for M/PM interventions
within their current and future programs and budgets (technical
capacity, monitoring tools, financial resources, etc.).
This objective and the related activities target program
objective 3 which seeks to enable national, district and local
stakeholders to actively and effectively engage in M/PM initiatives
through advocacy and direct technical support at the various
levels. This objective is shared between JSI/ Advancing Partners
and the grantee, depending on level of the expected intervention
and technical capacities.
Key Activity (per the USAID-approved workplan)
Responsible Party(ies) and Illustrative Interventions
Key Activity 3.1: Work with national Grantee will lead at
district level. It is expected government and district leaders that
the grantees key interventions will include: (DHMTs and District
Councils) to • Identify and study the district (health and
non-mobilize support for M/PM health) budgeting process
(development, interventions within their current and approval,
execution) and disbursement future programs and budgets mechanisms,
in order to advocate for paying for
maintenance (repairs) from DHMTs and DCs budget line-items.
• Facilitate district fora to advocate for inclusion of M/PM
into annual programs and budgets.
• Support capacity building for DHMT and District Council staff
on procurement processes and contracting with private sector
organizations.
Note: JSI will lead similar activities at the national
level.
Key Activity 3.2: Develop and Grantee will lead. It is expected
that grantee’s key implement mechanisms for interventions will
include: maintaining medical equipment (ME) • Build the capacity of
DHMTs and District Councils at health facilities, ideally through
the in relation to understanding, monitoring and MOHS’ Biomedical
Engineer program performing M/PM interventions (i.e. engage in
technical capacity-building of key staff at DHMT/DC; support
participation of DHMT staff during the planning and monitoring
visits to facilities, etc.).
• Support skill building for biomedical engineers at the
district level on M/PM of the ME.
Note: JSI will work closely with MOHS and grantee to ensure the
training on facility M/PM and for MME is authorized by MOHS and
standardized across the 3 districts.
Key Activity 3.3: Facilitate M/PM resource solutions through the
DHMTs, DCs, private sector
Grantee will lead. It is expected that grantee’s key
interventions will include: • Facilitate community and district
resources to
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contracting, and public-private partnerships, as feasible,
during the program period
contribute to the implementation of M/PM (minor repairs) that
are needed in the facilities as per the regularly updated Facility
Improvement Action Plans (thus contributing to facilities meeting
the minimum WASH/IPC standards of the MOHS).
• When needed, the grantee will support the implementation of
minor repairs.
Key Activity 3.4: Engage in advocacy and ensure coordination of
program activities with ongoing work of other donors (e.g. UNICEF,
WB) in relation to M/PM activities for health facilities
Grantee will lead this activity at the district level.
JSI/Advancing Partners will lead at the national level.
Note: As part of the key activity 3.3., there may be significant
repairs that cannot be accomplished by FMCs/local communities or
DHMTs/DCs to ensure facility systems are operational as per MOHS
WASH and IPC minimum standards. Examples include submersible pumps,
parts for solar systems, etc. Costs for these significant repairs
are currently not included in the scope of this RFA, although this
might be revisited at a later stage.
Illustrative Targets: • At least 35 of the facilities and their
communities will be engaged / mobilized for M/PM
activities for their local health facility. • At least 75% of
the FMCs regularly update their Facility Improvement Action
Plans
(monitor monthly and update quarterly). • District level
development plans and budgets include facility M/PM.
Illustrative Indicators: • # of community members trained on
M/PM (including skills for maintenance and minor
repairs) • # of community groups, disaggregated by type of
group, investing resources in M/PM in
targeted facilities (e.g. % of VSLAs dedicating % of social
funds to the M/PM of health facility)
• # of new groups established to support M/PM of targeted
facilities • Funds ($) collected to support M/PM at each facility •
#/% of FMCs that update their Facility Improvement Action Plan
(life of program) • # of DHMT staff, including biomedical
technicians, trained in M/PM related matters
(procurement, planning, scheduling, implementation), by type of
training topic
A4. Program Management
For management and coordination purposes, the grantee will be
expected to engage in the following activities:
• Participate in regular (at least monthly) coordination
meetings with Advancing Partners, Sierra Leone team, either in the
Districts or in Freetown.
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• Participate in ad hoc program meetings to ensure compliance
with USAID reporting requirements, to align data collection and
reporting (for monitoring, end line surveys, etc.), and to review
and revise inputs to ensure uniform implementation of national
standards and program tools, guidelines and procedures as they are
developed and/or refined.
• Participate in the Working Group that JSI/Advancing Partners
will establish with the MOHS and partners interested in/working
with health facility M/PM programs.
• Represent, whenever needed, the program at the district level
in relevant meetings • Advocate for the inclusion of M/PM in health
facilities as priority
A5. Application Requirements
For each of the Objectives / Key Activities listed in section
IV.2 above, the Applicant is expected to describe technically and
managerially how it will successfully implement the Activities
listed under each Objective. The Applicant may utilize the
illustrative interventions/tasks provided in section IV.2; however,
if they are utilized, the Application must demonstrate
understanding of scope of work and its objectives and offer
critical thinking to describe a successful path to activity
implementation, rather than simply providing a restatement of the
illustrative activities/tasks presented herein.
Applicants are encouraged to offer alternative interventions,
activities, and/or approaches for meeting the three objectives
outlined in this RFA, keeping in mind the General Guiding
Principles listed above, as well as the overall focus on the
connection of communities with their local health facility, and the
enhancement of local leadership and resource mobilization.
Applicants are encouraged to be innovative and identify high
impact-low cost avenues for meeting the program’s objectives.
A6. Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning
Applicants should submit a preliminary Workplan and a
preliminary monitoring and evaluation plan. The successful
Applicant will be required to work with JSI/Advancing Partners
& Communities to submit a Workplan and a Performance Monitoring
Plan (M&E Plan) that will measure progress toward
results/deliverables. The Workplan is to be submitted for review
and approval within 15 calendar days after signing of the grant
agreement.
The grantee will be expected to meet all reporting requirements
of USAID and Advancing Partners & Communities, which include
the submission of monthly performance reports, program
expenditures, and financial reports. Specific reporting templates
and guidelines will be provided by JSI/Advancing Partners.
The grantee will also be expected to contribute to the
development of lessons learned and case studies to showcase
successes and challenges in striving for community ownership and
engagement in the M/PM of health facilities.
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SECTION B: APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
B1. Application Guidelines
The Applicant is encouraged to read the solicitation in its
entirety, and ensure that the Application addresses all of the
items cited in the Application instructions and meets the
eligibility criteria. The deadline for Questions is June 18, 2018
at 9:00 AM EDT/1:00 PM GMT. All Applications must be submitted by
July 5, 2018 at 9:00 AM EDT/1:00 PM GMT. Applications submitted
after the closing date and time will not be considered.
The Application must be accompanied by a cover letter typed on
official organizational letterhead and signed by a person who has
signatory authority for the Applicant. The complete Application
package (electronic format) shall be submitted on or before the due
date and time to [email protected]. All documents related to the
Application shall be submitted in English.
Receipt of an Application does not constitute a grant commitment
on behalf of the USG, USAID, JSI, and/or FHI 360, nor does it
commit any of these entities to reimburse any costs incurred in the
preparation and submission of an Application. JSI, FHI 360, and the
USG reserve the right not to fund any and/or all of the
Applications received.
All Applications submitted on or before the due date and time,
except those determined to be non-responsive, will be reviewed by a
technical committee that will evaluate the Applications according
to the criteria provided below. The committee will determine which
organizations will be recommended for funding based on the
submitted responses to the evaluation criteria. All Applicants will
be notified in writing whether their Application has been selected.
A recommendation for funding is contingent on the availability of
funds and the approval of the Agreement Officer’s Representative
(AOR) of Advancing Partners & Communities at USAID/Washington.
The successful Applicant will be awarded a grant from JSI/
Advancing Partners on behalf of USAID.
B2. Technical Application
The Technical Application describes the Applicant’s existing
technical and organizational capacity to meet Program Objectives
(see Section A). It should be concise, specific, complete, and
demonstrate a clear understanding of the objectives and key
activities of the program. Technical Applications are to be no more
than fifteen (15) pages.
The following are NOT included in the fifteen page limit: table
of contents, acronym list, and attachments (i.e. Past Performance
Information Tables, Budget and Budget Documents, Preliminary
Workplan, Preliminary Monitoring and Evaluation Plan, CVs, staffing
plan, organogram, etc.).
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mailto:[email protected]
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All Applications should be typed on standard letter-sized paper
(8 ½ x 11”) with 1” margins, using a font size of 12 Times New
Roman, except within tables and in the budget section where the
font size may be smaller but must be easily readable (size 10 font
minimum).
At this initial stage, the Applicant should NOT submit any
additional documents with their Application, except for those
outlined herein. Advancing Partners & Communities will confirm
receipt via email of all Applications within seven (7) calendar
days after the submission deadline.
The Applicant should submit all documents via email; it is not
necessary to send a hard copy of the Application via mail. Each of
the documents listed below, including the signed cover letter,
should be submitted as separate attachments to the email. The
Applicant should not include photographs as part of its
Application.
The Applicant should include only information necessary to
provide a clear understanding of the organization’s technical and
organizational capacity, and their proposed plan for program
implementation. Providing more detail than necessary, as well as
insufficient detail, may detract from an Application’s clarity. The
Applicant should assume that the reader is not familiar with the
particular context in which the program will be implemented. The
Applicant should minimize the use of jargon and acronyms as much as
possible. If acronyms or abbreviations are used, a separate page
explaining the terms should be included.
Cover Page (1 page) Include the name of the organization
submitting the Application, program title, location (District),
proposed program dates (e.g., August 1, 2018-April 30, 2019),
requested amount (in USD) of USAID funding, and names, office
addresses, phones, fax, and email of the primary individual
responsible for the Application and at least one alternate. The
same details are to be provided for any proposed sub-grantees.
Executive Summary (1-2 pages) The executive summary should
provide an overview of critical elements of the Application,
including the organization’s overall approach to supporting
Objectives #1, Objective #2 and Objective #3. Roles of specific
partners (if included) should be described. Applicant should also
address why the organization is suitable to provide the services
requested in this RFA.
Technical Approach (10-11 pages)
1. Situation Analysis The situation analysis should present a
brief yet sound analytic basis for the proposed approaches,
strategies and interventions, including an understanding of the
cultural, demographic and socio-economic factors, and working
environment related to the strengthening of the peripheral health
level. This section should give greatest attention to opportunities
and barriers to programmatic work, such as the presence or absence
of resources and capabilities. Overall, this section should
establish that the Applicant has a sufficient
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understanding of the current and evolving situation and context
of the proposed program.
2. Strategic Approach, Assumptions and Constraints This section
is to describe how the Applicant is proposing to achieve the
overarching objective “To prompt health posts and their local
stakeholders to identify community-driven solutions that would lead
to mobilization of community and district level resources, for
addressing service quality and health facility maintenance and
preventive maintenance (M/PM) needs on an ongoing basis”.
The Applicant should clearly describe how it will meet the
specific objectives through harmonization with MOHS priorities and
strategies and with other grantees. The Applicant should NOT write
about what it may have achieved in the past; this section is about
what it proposes to do within this program. Please highlight the
approaches to be used to achieve these objectives, including the
types of activities and processes.
For each of the of the Objectives #1, #2, #3, the Applicant
needs to describe what major activities, strategies and innovative
approaches the Applicant’s organization proposes to order to
achieve the results as listed above. These should also be
summarized in a Preliminary Workplan that should be submitted as an
attachment to the technical proposal using the template provided in
Attachment 5 of this RFA.
In the technical approach, the Applicant may want to pay
additional attention to how it intends to achieve the performance
indicators it will include in the Preliminary Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan. In addition, the Applicant should address how
program implementation will be coordinated with the DHMTs and
District Councils and with existing coordination mechanisms,
government plans, and related efforts by Government and donors.
The Applicant should highlight the proposed approach(es) for
community engagement and resource mobilization for the purpose of
health facility M/PM. The Applicant should clearly describe how it
plans to facilitate and work with various community groups
identified and how the operational links between various
communities groups (VSGs/VSLA, VDC, M2M, and/or others) and the
health facilities (especially FMC) will be established and
developed.
This section should also describe how the Applicant plans to
collaborate with the DHMTs, District Council, and other government
partners or NGOs working in the proposed geographic area and
program content areas.
The Applicant should also describe ways in which gender
considerations will be incorporated into the activity areas.
The Applicant should identify the intended beneficiaries of the
program and how their situation will be changed as a result of the
proposed program. An estimate of the number of beneficiaries,
disaggregated by sex, should be included, and the Applicant should
discuss the
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differences in approaches, if any, to be used with male and
female beneficiaries and how gender disparities can be
addressed.
If the Applicant is using partners (subgrants), this section
must explain the role of each partner in relation to the objectives
and key program activities.
Finally, there should also be a section which describes key
assumptions and constraints that might impact the ability to
achieve results or outcomes; and how the applicant plans to address
them.
High consideration will be given to applications that include
leveraging of additional resources from other public or private
donors.
3. Management and Staffing Plans This section elaborates how the
Applicant intends to manage the program. The Applicant shall
identify the key personnel and other relevant personnel positions
for this program.
Applicants should propose a sound staffing plan which describes
the staff working on the project and their respective
responsibilities; along with an organizational chart (as an
Attachment) which outlines planned central level and district level
staffing. The Program Manager will be considered key personnel and
his/her CV should be attached. We encourage Applicants to submit
the CVs of no more than two pages in length of other personnel
relevant to their Application to showcase their experience and
implementation capabilities.
4. Monitoring and Evaluation Effective internal monitoring and
evaluation of activities, outputs, and outcomes are essential for
transparency and lessons learned, as well as for meeting the
monthly reporting requirements of this program. This section of the
Application must contain a description of:
• The Applicant’s organization’s current capacity to monitor and
evaluate program performance.
• How the proposed program will gather relevant implementation
data, monitor implementation progress and outputs and measure
program outcomes.
• How the applicant will capture and disseminate lessons learned
and best practices from the SHFI program’s implementation.
• How gender-relevant data and information will be gathered and
used.
In addition, the Applicant should use the Preliminary Monitoring
and Evaluation Plan template (Attachment 4) to chronologically
outline program activities and indicators/targets. The Applicant
should include illustrative indicators, starting from the ones
proposed in Section A, if desired, for the proposed targets and key
activities for the life of the grant. If the Application includes
partnering with another organization, provide specific sub-sections
for each organization included.
Existing Capacity (2 pages) The Applicant will describe
organizational philosophy, mission and goals, current capacity
for
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supporting Objectives #1, #2, and #3, and experiences in Sierra
Leone related to the technical areas included in this RFA.
The Applicant should also describe similar experiences in
managing grants or contracts of a similar size and complexity,
preferably funded by the US Government. The Applicant should
further discuss its solid, organizational presence in the
Districts, working relationships with communities and other key
actors (such as DHMTs or District Councils), and shall demonstrate
a sufficient understanding of the current and evolving situation
and context of the proposed program.
Reminder: Technical Applications are to be no more than fifteen
(15) pages.
Attachments to the Technical Application (NOT included in the
page limit):
i. Past Performance Information Tables: The Applicant should
submit no more than 3 Past Performance Information Tables
(Attachment 1) for similar programs implemented within the past
five years, preferably in Sierra Leone and West Africa.
ii. CVs for Program Manager and other proposed staff. iii.
Staffing Plan/Organizational Chart. iv. Preliminary Workplan: The
Applicant should use the template provided in
Attachment 5. v. Preliminary Monitoring and Evaluation Plan: The
Applicant should use the template
provided in Attachment 4. vi. Budget and budget documents: The
Applicant should use the templates provided in
Attachments 2 and 3.
Summary and Detailed Budget and Budget Notes The Applicant
should include both a detailed budget and a summary budget
(Attachment 2) using the following categories of cost (exclude any
that do not apply): Labor, Allowances/Staff Benefits, Consultants,
Travel, Equipment, Other Direct Costs, Program Costs, Renovation
Activities and Subgrants6. The category Overhead or Indirect Costs
may be used only if the organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost
Rate Agreement (NICRA) from a US federal agency. In the absence of
a NICRA, the Applicant can elect to use a “DeMinims” rate of 10%.
Otherwise, please include all overhead related costs (share of
rent, utilities, management costs, etc.) within the other budgeted
categories. No profit or fee may be charged.
The budget notes (template in Attachment 3) need to be detailed
and should indicate a reasonable amount of care and thought in
terms of general budgetary assumptions.
6 Subgrants must also have sufficient detail (following the same
format as the budget submitted by the Applicant).
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SECTION C: ELIGIBILITY, SELECTION PROCESS AND EVALUATION
CRITERIA
C1. Introduction The Technical Evaluation criteria provided in
Section C4 serve: (1) to identify the significant matters which the
Applicant should address in its Application; and (2) as the
standard against which all Applications will be evaluated.
The Applicant must organize the narrative sections of its
Application in the same order as the item listed under Section C4:
Technical Evaluation Criteria and following the guidance presented
in Section B2. Applications found to be ineligible will not be
reviewed. A grant shall be made to the Applicant whose submission,
based on indicated technical evaluation criteria and budget review,
represents the best value.
C2. Eligibility The Advancing Partners & Communities Program
in Sierra Leone invites Applications from legally registered
entities in Sierra Leone that meet the following minimum
requirements:
• Demonstrated expertise and experience in community resource
mobilization and advocacy;
• Experience in Water, Hygiene, and Sanitation (WASH)
infrastructure improvements; • Experience working in at least two
of the following districts in the past five years:
o Bombali; Port Loko; Tonkolili
Note: These minimum criteria can be met by individual
organizations or through partnerships when submitting your
application in response to this RFA.
For their Application to be considered under this solicitation,
the organization must have adequate financial controls and can
reasonably expect to be eligible to receive USAID funds by
satisfying 2 CFR 200 and 2 CFR 700 requirements.
If proposing partnerships/ subgrants, the Applicant must clearly
outline the details of these partnerships in the undertaking of the
activities that meet the objectives of this program.
C3. Selection Process Applications will undergo a preliminary
review by Advancing Partners & Communities staff for
completeness and responsiveness based on the minimum eligibility
criteria and the documentation required in the Application.
Incomplete Applications and/or Applications judged to be
unresponsive to this RFA will be considered ineligible.
Applications submitted after the due date and time will not be
considered.
Applications deemed to be eligible will then be reviewed against
the technical evaluation criteria outlined in Section C4.
Thereafter, the Budget of the Applicant selected for a potential
grant will be reviewed for
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general reasonableness, allowability, and allocability of
costs.
A grant will be awarded to for an Application submitted that
offers the greatest value, and will be made based on the ranking of
Applications according to the evaluation criteria.
Advancing Partners & Communities reserves the right to
request further information or request revisions from all
Applicants deemed to have met minimum requirements if needed to
make a final selection.
The Advancing Partners & Communities Finance Director will
use the conclusions and recommendations of the technical evaluation
from the Technical Committee together with an evaluation of costs
to determine if negotiations with the successful Applicant are
required. A recommendation for funding is contingent on the
availability of funds and the approval of the AOR of the Advancing
Partners & Communities Program within USAID/Washington.
C4. Technical Evaluation Criteria The Applicant should note that
these criteria serve: (1) to identify the significant matters which
the Applicant should address in its Application; and (2) as the
standard against which all Applications will be evaluated.
Situation Analysis [10 points] This section should demonstrate
the Applicant has a strong understanding of the three districts of
operation, the context in which the program is framed, and the
roles played by facilities and their communities in ensuring
sustainability and self-reliance. A strong analysis will:
1. Describe the District context showcasing an understanding and
knowledge of the areas of intervention. [2 points]
2. Describe health facility maintenance and preventive
maintenance related challenges and the likely impact of
non-performance on the overall health system. [4 points]
3. Describe the role community engagement can have in
strengthening ownership and creating sustainability for key
interventions. [4 points]
Strategic Approach, Assumptions and Constraints [45 points] This
section should provide a clear description of the overall
strategies, activities, and details of the proposed technical
interventions and activities/tasks for achieving Objectives #1, #2
and #3. The reviewers will evaluate overall quality and feasibility
of the technical approach. A strong technical design will:
1. Provide a clear description of the Applicant’s strategy and
describe how the proposed approaches are sufficient to effectively
achieve the Objectives and Key Activities as described or
illustrated in this RFA. [5 points]
2. Document the Applicant’s approach to community engagement and
resource mobilization. [5 points]
3. Describe how the Applicant will engage and mobilize
communities to invest in M/PM initiatives at their local health
facilities [9 points]:
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o Building on previous experiences working with VSGs/VSLAs
and/or other community resource mobilization approaches (i.e.
taxation, etc.);
o Introducing innovative strategies and/or approaches. 4.
Describe how the applicant plans to leverage additional resources
from other
public or private donors; and provide an approximate “dollar
value” of these additional resources. A description of additional
resources should be provided clearly for each objective and key
activities. [5 points]
5. Describe how the Applicant will assess M/PM skills needs at
the various level of intervention; and build the necessary skills.
[4 points]
6. Describe how the Applicant will engage with the three DHMTs
and other district level authorities on M/PM capacity building,
project implementation and advocacy. [4 points]
7. Describe the roles of partner organizations and governmental
bodies, where relevant, and describe how the Applicant will
complement and coordinate with the activities of these other local
organizations in the proposed Districts, including government,
NGOs/FBOs, networks or associations, and community and indigenous
organizations. [4 points]
8. Provide the key assumptions and anticipated constraints used
in relation to the proposed plan of action; and comprehensively
describe the mechanisms and/or approaches that will apply to
anticipate and respond to these constraints. [3 points]
9. Describe and appropriately quantify the intended
stakeholders/beneficiaries and problems to be addressed in relation
to some/all of these subgroups. [3 points]
10. Ensure that gender issues are addressed adequately. [3
points]
Note: The Preliminary Workplan will also be evaluated under this
section.
Management and Staffing Plans [15 points] This section provides
an overview of the Applicant’s proposed management of the
sub-program. A relevant and strong management and staffing plans
will:
1. Demonstrate the qualifications of proposed personnel to carry
out technical and managerial requirements of the program. [2
points]
2. Demonstrate strong organizational, human resources,
financial, and information management structures and mechanisms,
with clear roles and responsibilities for staff and partners, if
proposed. [4 points]
3. Demonstrate a focus on the quality and effectiveness of
services, including consistency in meeting targets and
effectiveness in solving problems and constraints. [3 points]
4. Prove to be appropriate for addressing the objectives of the
program within each of the three districts of operation. [2
points]
5. Demonstrate the capacity to develop an effective system for
working with the DMHTs and other organizations in these districts,
as needed. [4 points]
Monitoring and Evaluation [15 points] This section provides a
description of the monitoring systems and mechanisms to be used.
The
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monitoring and evaluation plan should be clear, realistic, and
likely to generate information that helps strengthen M/PM functions
or contributes to the overall outcomes of the program.
1. The Applicant has clearly described how they will monitor and
evaluate progress across the 3 districts, the 70 sites and
elsewhere. [5 points]
2. The program’s structure/staffing includes adequate resources
for undertaking monitoring and evaluation and reporting activities.
[3 points]
3. Indicators specified in the Preliminary Monitoring and
Evaluation Plan are viable for proposed outcomes and all data and
information is gender disaggregated. [4 points]
4. The Applicant demonstrates how it will document lessons
learned and best practices from program implementation. [3
points]
Note: The Preliminary Monitoring and Evaluation Plan will also
be evaluated under this section.
Existing Capacity [15 points] This section demonstrates the
Applicant’s track record of the proposed type of work. To be
successful in this section, the Applicant will:
1. Showcase previous experience with innovative community
engagement and community resource mobilization approaches, as well
as WASH activities in health facilities and/or at the community
level. [5 points]
2. Demonstrate the capacity to manage a program of this scale
(from both the Existing Capacity section and Past Performance
Information Tables). [3 points]
3. Demonstrate their experience in working directly with
district authorities for both program implementation and technical
assistance. [3 points]
4. Demonstrate the capacity to quickly mobilize to initiate the
agreed-upon activities. [4 points]
Note: References will be checked to assess the Applicant’s past
performance based on the factors listed above.
C5. Weighting of Technical Evaluation Criteria The Applicant
will be evaluated by the technical committee and scored based on
the following criteria:
I. Situation Analysis 10 points II. Strategic Approach,
Assumptions, and Constraints 45 points
III. Management and Staffing Plan 15 points IV. Monitoring and
Evaluation 15 points V. Existing Capacity 15 points
TOTAL 100 Points
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SECTION D: ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1: Past Performance Information Table
Note: Please fill in the past performance information outlining
programs relevant to this RFA that highlight how the Applicant
meets the minimum eligibility criteria.
Organization Name Program Name
Program Objective
Description of activities undertaken
Geographic Location (district, sub-District, village,
parish)
Donor Contact Info. (name & mailing address of donor &
name & phone number/email address of program contacts) Period
of Implementation
Total Program Budget
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Attachment 2: Summary and Detailed Budget Template
Note: Please see attached Excel File for the Summary and
Detailed Budget Template.
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Attachment 3: Budget Notes Template ORGANIZATION NAME
Budget Notes Date
1. Staff/Labor Costs Direct salaries and wages must be in
accordance with the organization's established personnel policies
and according to any local labor legislation To be considered
adequate, the policies must be in writing, applicable to all
employees of the organization, is subject to review and approval at
a high enough organizational level to assure their uniform
enforcement and result in costs which are reasonable and allowable
in accordance with applicable cost principles.
2. Allowances/Staff Benefits All allowances and benefits
provided as part of staff compensation that is above the salary
base must be listed and described in this section.
Staff Benefits - If accounted for as a separate item of cost,
fringe benefits must be based on the Applicant's audited fringe
benefit rate or historical cost data in accordance with local
legislation.
3. Consultant Costs Direct consultants hired as part of this
program must be listed. Daily rates and planned number of days must
be included along with a brief description of the type of work the
consultant will undertake to support the aims of the program.
4. Travel and Transportation The narrative must indicate number
of expected trips for all personnel and the estimated unit cost for
each, specifically the origin and destination for each proposed
trip, duration of travel, and number of individuals traveling. Per
diem, if paid, should be in accordance with the organization’s
established travel policies and USAID travel regulations.
5. Expendable Equipment* Expendable equipment can be budgeted
under this category but non-expendable equipment will not be funded
under these grants. (NOTE: Non-expendable equipment is defined as
tangible personal property which has a useful life of more than one
year and an acquisition cost of US $5,000 or more for each piece of
equipment).
*Expendable Equipment for the program, NOT the minor medical
supplies/IPC consumables. These should not be part of the cost
proposal.
The standard provision USAID Eligibility Rules for Goods and
Services will apply to any grant. These rules can be found in
Section M8 of Standard Provisions for U.S. Organizations and
Section M6 of Standard Provisions for Non-U.S. Organizations and
mainly pertain to the “source and origin” of the items to be
purchased. The Geographic Code for this RFA is 935 –Applicant may
purchase items from any area or country including the recipient
country, but excluding the foreign policy restricted countries.
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6. Other Direct Costs All costs in this category must be
specifically described in detail. Examples of other direct costs
are communication, printing, postage, supplies, etc.
7. Program Costs All costs in this category must be specifically
described in detail.
8. Renovation Costs/Activities All costs in this category must
be specifically described in detail.
9. Subgrants Any subgrants anticipated as part of the program
must be included here along with the name of Applicant, the amount
of the sub-grant, and a complete cost breakdown (following the same
format as submitted by the Applicant).
10. Indirect Cost Rates Funds should be budgeted here only if
the Applicant has a currently approved NICRA. In the absence of a
NICRA the Applicant can elect to use a DeMinims rate of 10%.
Otherwise, please include all overhead related costs (share of
rent, utilities, management costs, etc.) within the other budgeted
categories. No profit or fee may be charged.
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Attachment 4: Preliminary Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
Template
Note: Please see the attached Excel File for the Preliminary
Monitoring and Evaluation Plan.
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Attachment 5: Preliminary Workplan Template
Note: Please see attached Excel file for the Preliminary
Workplan Template.
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Attachment 6: Community Engagement Concept Note
Current Situation: Sierra Leone has the highest rate of maternal
mortality and is ranking third of the highest under-5 mortality in
the world. Government investment in health is below 10% of GDP
(considerably under the Abuja commitment of 15%) and more than 40%
of health workforce is not in the payroll. Despite donor consistent
efforts over the past decades, due to many competing priorities and
recurrent emergencies, the majorities of health facilities, and
especially the ones at the community level, are still in dire need
of renovation/rehabilitation to be brought up to the minimum MOHS
WASH and IPC standards7 (SL has ~1,300 Peripheral Health Units).
These issues are coupled with lack of confidence in the health
system, particularly due to the poor availability of essential
medicines and a low ratio of skilled health personnel.
Much has been done in the country by development partners to
improve the infrastructure of the public sector health facilities
in order to ensure the environment is conducive for the delivery of
quality health services in a safe manner. However, a) poor
engagement of communities and other key stakeholders in the
process; b) missed inclusion of maintenance plans within the
rehabilitation strategy; c) emergency-style intervention
strategies; and d) very little co-funding from the government
resources, have impacted on the community ownership of the various
interventions, hence limiting the interest by communities’ members
in getting involved at a later stage.
Learning from the current situation and from the understanding
that community engagement is paramount to mobilize resources for
long-lasting change; the Sustaining Health Facility Improvements
(SHFI) program aims at engaging communities into the maintenance
and preventive maintenance (M/PM) of health facilities through the
mobilization of private sector community resources and
strengthening overall community ownership of maintenance related
interventions. The intent is to do so by engaging with existing
community groups, particularly Village Saving Groups (VSGs), and
triggering new communities’ members/groups to identify solutions to
support the M/PM of their local health facilities.
Through the Post-Ebola Recovery of Health Services (PERHS)
program, Advancing Partners renovated 70 facilities across 3
districts (Bombali, Port Loko, and Tonkolili)8 – improving access
to water and sanitation, addressing waste management weaknesses,
and providing solar power for lighting and water pumps. In these
facilities, the program supported the establishment of Facility
Management Committees (FMCs) in charge of acting as primary link
between the health facility (HF) and the communities in the
catchment area. In the same areas, USAID and other development
partners have supported the establishment and implementation of
VSGs, Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLAs) and other
community groups to strengthen community resilience.
The SHFI staff has recently completed a mapping exercise to
identify how many PERHS facilities have existing VSGs/VSLAs and
other community groups in their catchment areas; and assessing
whether additional groups can be established.
7 WASH Guidelines and Standards, Ministry of Health and
Sanitation, 2017 8 An additional 40 facilities were renovated in
Western Area Urban (20) and Western Area Rural (20).
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Strategic Approaches and Illustrative Interventions: One of the
key objectives of the SHFI program is to trigger communities to
identify community-driven solutions and mobilize local resources to
HF M/PM needs. By engaging at the community level through
community-based participatory learning and planning methodologies,
the program will involve communities to decide how to contribute to
the maintenance and preventive-maintenance of the facility, whether
in-kind (human resources, materials, etc.), financial, or both.
The program is expected to include, but is not exclusive to,
three strategic approaches (SA): • SA 1: Collaborate with already
existing VSGs/VSLAs that no longer have donor support and are
interested/willing to dedicate resources (in-kind or from their
social fund) to support HF M/PM activities. Potential intervention
include: incentive-matching program; extension of existing
VSG/VSLAs to additional groups/villages; expansion of existing
VSG/VSLAs; collaboration across VSG/VSLAs, etc.
• SA 2: Establish new VSGs/VSLAs within HF catchment communities
which recognize health as a priority and HF M/PM as one of the key
activities to invest in. Potential intervention includes targeting
already established Ebola survivors groups and/or Mother Support
Groups9 to initiate VSGs/VSLAs.
• SA 3: Identify and establish alternative solutions to mobilize
community in-kind and financial resources (i.e. monthly fees to
access facility water sources, taxation for services from
population categories which are not Free Health Care Initiative;
etc.) Potential intervention includes working with the FMCs and
Village Development Committees to set up local resource
mobilization systems.
With reference to interventions which aim at mobilizing
financial resources from community groups, the SHFI program plans
to: • Provide the VSGs/VSLAs with basic financial and
entrepreneurship training and facilitate the initial
set-up by providing materials such as cash box, ledger, etc.
(particularly for new VSGs/VSLAs). • Support the groups with
seed-fund, matching-fund or provision of small assets to
incentivize their
involvement in health facility M/MP (particularly for existing
VSGs/VSLAs; but also for new VSGs/VSLAs).
Considering that each health facilities is expected to have a
functional FMC which a) encompasses members from communities in the
catchment area of the HF; and b) is expected to develop, update and
facilitate the implementation of the “facility improvement plans”;
the program plans to: • Strengthen coordination mechanisms between
FMCs, VSGs, VSLAs, and other community groups
(whether providing financial resources or in-kind contribution).
• Providing FMCs with basic training similar to that provided to
the community VSG/VSLA groups so
they have the capacities and the organizational strategies to
collect and manage funds.
After conducting the individual community-based participatory
learning and planning exercises, community/ facility specific
interventions will be designed alongside with the community groups
and leaders. It is expected that:
• Health facilities with 1 or more existing VSG/VSLA will be
targeted through SA 1, 2 and 3. • Health facilities with no
existing VSGs/VSLAs will be targeted through SA 2 and 3.
9 Groups of women (pregnant, breastfeeding, mothers of children
under five years) which are formed at community level, usually 10
groups of 10 people each for each PHU to discuss about health and
nutrition issues.
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The program will look into the possibility of establishing
accountability mechanisms, such as community scorecard, to ensure
that communities feel they have ownership over the process and keep
FMCs and HF staff accountable for the contribution they receive for
the HF maintenance needs.
Assumptions and Constraints: The SHFI program implementation is
based on the following key assumptions: • A percentage of the total
number of HF targeted through the PERHS program have existing
VSGs/VSLA and a percentage of these existing groups are
interested and can be supported to support a mix of in-kind and
monetary contributions the maintenance of the facility [exact
percentage TBD after the mapping exercise is complete].
• In those facilities with pre-existing VSGs/VSLAs the program
will seek to establish additional groups or systems to contribute
to the HF M/PM with a mix of in-kind and monetary contribution.
• New VSG/VSLA groups will target community members who are
already connected to other USAID programs, i.e. EVD Survivors and
Community Healing Dialogues beneficiaries; or pre-existing groups
with high interest in the facility, such as mother support groups).
We believe this will increase the rate of engagement, and
therefore, of success.
• Existing VSGs/VSLAs agree to collect and use funds to cover
for small expenses linked to the HF M/PM (i.e. to repair/replace
broken locks, benches, fences, roofs; clean of waste management
systems, solar systems and water tanks, etc.) or manage to gather
adequate resources to do so.
• During the duration of the program there are no episodes of
mismanagement of funds by VSGs/VSLAs or FMCs to negatively impact
the established trust among community members which is paramount
for VSG/VSLA groups to function.
Key constraints: • Usually the process of establishing VSG takes
at minimum 9-12 months. New VSGs/VSLAs groups will
just be reaching the time for a potential disbursement towards
the end of the program. • In places where there are only one or two
communities having a VSG/VSLA, the JSI/Advancing
Partners team anticipates that we may encounter an equity
problem between communities/villages that are asked to support the
M/PM of their health facility and the ones that don’t. It is hoped
that communities with no VSGs will see this as an opportunity to
join the program.
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Attachment 7: List of SHFI Program Targeted Facilities
District Chiefdom Name of Health Facility Type of HF
Bombali Biriwa Bumbanday MCHP MCHP Bombali Biriwa Kagbankona
MCHP MCHP Bombali Biriwa Kayonkoro CHP CHP Bombali Bombali Sebora
Maforay CHP CHP Bombali Gbanti Kamaranka Gbanti CHP CHP Bombali
Gbanti Kamaranka Gbonkobana MCHP MCHP Bombali Gbendembu Ngowahun
Maharie CHP CHP Bombali Gbendembu Ngowahun Masongbo Loko CHP CHP
Bombali Libeisaygahun Gbonkonka CHP CHP Bombali Makari Gbanti
Fullah Town CHP CHP Bombali Makari Gbanti Kolisokoh CHP CHP Bombali
Makari Gbanti Mabayo MCHP MCHP Bombali Paki Masabong Masingbi lol
MCHP MCHP Bombali Safroko Limba Kabonka CHP CHP Bombali Safroko
Limba Maselleh MCHP MCHP Bombali Safroko Limba Masongbo Limba CHP
CHP Bombali Sanda Loko Laminaya CHP CHP Bombali Sanda Loko Madina
Fullah CHP CHP Bombali Sanda Loko Maharibo CHP CHP Bombali Sanda
Tendaren Manack CHP CHP Bombali Sella Limba Kaponkie CHP CHP
Bombali Sella Limba Masankorie CHP CHP Bombali Tambaka Samaya CHP
CHP Bombali Tambaka Sanya CHP CHP Port Loko BKM Barmoi CHP CHP
Port Loko BKM Minthomor CHP CHP
Port Loko Buya Romende Manumtheneh MCHP MCHP Port Loko Buya
Romende Worreh Bana MCHP MCHP Port Loko Dibia Gbombana MCHP MCHP
Port Loko Dibia Rogballan CHP CHP Port Loko Koya K/Ngollah MCHP
MCHP Port Loko Koya Kurankoh MCHP MCHP Port Loko Koya Magbeni MCHP
MCHP Port Loko Koya Malenki MCHP MCHP Port Loko Koya Mawomah MCHP
MCHP Port Loko Koya Rofoindu CHP CHP Port Loko Lokomasama Bailor
MCHP MCHP
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Port Loko Lokomasama Benkia MCHP MCHP Port Loko Lokomasama
Kagbullor CHP CHP Port Loko Lokomasama Menika MCHP MCHP Port Loko
Maforki Mafoimara CHP CHP Port Loko Maforki Maronkoh MCHP MCHP Port
Loko Masimera Mayolla MCHP MCHP Port Loko Sanda Magbolonthor Komneh
CHP CHP Port Loko Sanda Magbolonthor Magbolonthor MCHP MCHP Port
Loko TMS Robaka MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Gbonkolenken Mathamp- MCHP MCHP
Tonkolili Gbonkolenken Warrima -MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Kafe Simiria
Makonthandae MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Kafe Simiria Masumbrie -CHP CHP
Tonkolili Kafe Simiria Mayossoh- MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Kalansogoia
Bassaia MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Kalansogoia Kemedugu - CHP CHP
Tonkolili Kholifa Rowalla Masoko-Mayoni MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Kunike
Fothaneh Bana CHP CHP Tonkolili KUNIKE Fothaneh Junction MCHP MCHP
Tonkolili Kunike Magbanabom CHP CHP Tonkolili Kunike Barina
Wonkibor MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Mala Mara Rochain Malal MCHP MCHP
Tonkolili Mala Mara Rochen Kamandao CHP CHP Tonkolili Malal Mara
Macobabana MCHP Tonkolili Sambaya Bendugu Kholifaga- MCHP MCHP
Tonkolili Tane Mathonkara MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Yoni Magbafth -MCHP
MCHP Tonkolili Yoni Makelleh MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Yoni Mamaka -MCHP
MCHP Tonkolili Yoni Masengbeh CHP CHP Tonkolili Yoni Mayorgbor CHP
CHP Tonkolili Yoni Rokimbi MCHP MCHP Tonkolili Yoni Ronietta CHP
CHP
3 districts 33 chiefdoms 70 HPs 2 types of HPs
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Attachment 8: Summary of Mapping Exercise in 3 Districts 1.
Bombali District: General analysis for the 24 HF assessed
• 18 out the 24 HFs have at least one community within their
catchment area with a VSG/VSLA • 11 out of the 24 HFs have
communities within their catchment area with a MSG • 22 out the 24
HFs have communities within their catchment area with a VDC
PHU Name Chiefdom No. of Communities in Catchment
No. of Communities in Catchment with at least 1 MSG
No. of Communities in Catchment with at least 1 VDC
No. of Communities with at least 1 VSG/VSLA
Total No. of VSG/VSLA
groups in HF Catchment
% of Communities in Catchment with
at least 1 VSG/VSLA
Maforay CHP Bombali Sebora 4 1 0 4 7 100% Gbanti CHP Gbanti 12 0
1 2 5 17% Kaponkie MCHP Sella Limba 17 1 1 4 10 24% Fullah Town
Makari Gbanti 14 0 1 3 3 21% Sanya CHC Tambaka 5 1 1 1 1 20%
Laminaya CHP Sanda Loko 21 0 0 4 9 19% Manack MCHP Sanda Tanderen
16 1 1 3 3 19% Masankorie CHP Sella Limba 17 0 1 3 10 18% Maharibo
MCHP Sanda Loko 17 0 1 3 3 18% Mabayo Makari Gbanti 7 1 1 1 2 14%
Madina Fullah MCHP Sanda Loko 19 0 1 2 4 11% Kabonka Safroko Limba
12 1 1 1 1 8% Masingbi Lol MCHP Paki Masabong 15 0 1 1 1 7%
Masongbo Limba CHP Safroko Limba 15 0 1 1 1 7% Bumbanday MCHP
Biriwa 18 1 1 1 3 6% Gbonkoka CHP Libeisaygahun 21 1 1 1 2 5%
Kayonkoro CHP Biriwa 24 1 1 1 1 4% Samaya CHP Tambaka 51 0 1 2 6 4%
Gbonkobana MCHP Gbanti 11 0 1 0 0 0% Maharie MCHP Gbendembu
Ngowahun 10 1 1 0 0 0%
Masongbo Loko MCHP 10 1 1 0 0 0% Kolisokoh Makari Gbanti 9 0 1 0
0 0% Kagbankona Biriwa 19 0 1 0 0 0% Maselleh MCHP Safroko Limba 10
0 1 0 0 0%
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2. Port Loko District: General analysis for the 22 HF assessed •
5 out the 22 HFs have at least one community within their catchment
area with a VSG/VSLA • 16 out of the 22 HFs have communities within
their catchment area with a MSG • 21 out the 22 HFs have
communities within their catchment area with a VDC
PHU Name Chiefdom No. of Communities
No. of Communities in
Catchment with at least 1
MSG
No. of Communities in Catchment with at least 1 VDC
No. of Communities with at least 1 VSG/VSLA
Total No. of VSG/VSLA
groups in HF Catchment
% of Communities in Catchment with at least 1
VSG/VSLA
Magbolonthor MCHP Sanda Magbolonthor 15 4 1 4 6 27%
Komneh CHP Sanda Magbolonthor 19 0 1 3 3 16%
Mawomah MCHP Koya 13 1 1 1 1 8%
Rogballan CHP Dibia 17 1 1 1 1 6%
Gbombana MCHP Dibia 23 1 1 1 1 4%
Worrehbana MCHP Buya Romende 11 1 1 0 0 0%
Bailor MCHP Lokomasama 27 3 1 0 0 0%
Mayolla MCHP Masimera 14 1 1 0 0 0%
Maronkoh MCHP Maforki 17 1 1 0 0 0%
Barmoi CHP BKM 18 1 1 0 0 0%
Minthomor CHP BKM 18 1 1 0 0 0%
Patikurr Kargbullor Lokomasama 18 1 1 0 0 0%
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Magbeni MCHP Koya 20 1 1 0 0 0%
Manumtheneh MCHP Buya Romende 10 0 1 0 0 0%
Benkia MCHP Lokomasama 11 0 1 0 0 0%
Rofoindu CHP Koya 12 0 1 0 0 0%
Mafoimara CHP Maforki 29 1 1 0 0 0%
Menika MCHP Lokomasama 18 0 1 0 0 0%
Malenki MCHP Koya 19 0 1 0 0 0%
Kurankoh MCHP Koya 21 0 1 0 0 0%
K/Ngollah MCHP Koya 55 1 1 0 0 0%
Robaka MCHP TMS 13 0 0 0 0 0%
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3. Tonkolili District: General analysis for the 24 HF assessed •
22 out the 24 HFs have at least one community within their
catchment area with a VSG/VSLA • 10 out of the 24 HFs have
communities within their catchment area with a MSG • 21 out the 24
HFs have communities within their