Application Guidelines for 15th March 2017 submission deadline
Background
The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative For Eastern Africa (OSIEA) have developed a small grants programme to support Strategic Advocacy for Palliative Care and Access to Essential but Controlled Pain Medications initiatives in four East African countries of: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.
Strategic advocacy for palliative care aims to influence decision makers to take steps to advance the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of palliative care. Access to essential controlled medicines is central to the provision of quality palliative care services. The May 2014 World Health Assembly Palliative Care Resolution (WHA 67-19) recognizes that access to palliative care and to essential medicines including opioid analgesics such as morphine for pain control, contributes to the realization of the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and well-being.[1]
This pilot small grants programme on strategic advocacy and access to controlled medicines will be implemented in 2017 and 2018, building onto strategies discussed at workshops during the 5th International African Palliative Care Conference in August 2016 in Uganda.
All work supported by this programme must directly contribute to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the following global, regional and national goals and objectives for improving access to palliative care and pain relief;
A call for applications will be sent out in February 2017 and August 2017. Applications will be approved in April and October 2017. Funding is primarily for one-off projects, with a duration of no more than one year. The size of grants will range from USD 2000 – USD 6000.
Funding Priorities
The programme aims to influence changes on health, medicines policies and laws to allow for improved access by patients who need palliative care and pain relief services. It is also expected to influence the allocation of local funding towards access to palliative care and controlled medicines. This programme also aims to bring more advocates on board to influence changes on this important public health issue, from other fields of health and human rights.
Specific priority areas for consideration include:
The following considerations will be taken into account in the selection of successful applicants for the small grants:
Small grants will not be awarded for the following:
Each applicant may include a request for up to USD 600 within their application for their core / administration costs. This component must be included as part of a bigger proposal. This part of a grant will only be included if the organisation applying makes a convincing case for the need for core / administration costs. This does not increase the maximum grant size which can be applied for, which is USD 6,000.
Grantees will be required to share with APCA any required information related to the grant in a timely manner, for the further development of the programme and other official purposes.
APCA and OSIEA are keen to make this programme available to as many organisations as possible. We are therefore unlikely to approve consecutive grants to any organisation. This means that an organisation will be considered for a small grant only once within the two years (2017 and 2018).
Applications
The deadline for applications will be 15th March 2017 and 15th September 2017 respectively. Applications will be reviewed in April and October 2017. Only applications made by completing the small grants application form for strategic advocacy and access to controlled medicines which is available here will be considered. Should you require additional support or information while developing the proposals you can contact the Programmes Director at APCA by telephone +256 312 264978 or email at: advocacyandmedicines@africanpalliativecare.org or fatia.kiyange@africanpalliativecare.org
Please attach all required documents to this application form. Incomplete applications risk not being considered.
All applicants must include the following documents with their application:
Please note that the small grants will be given through a highly competitive process and some applications will therefore be unsuccessful. We will endeavour to communicate our decision to all applicants within two months of the closing date.
What to expect if you are successful in applying for a grant
If you are successful in applying for a grant, you will be notified by APCA who will send you a grant approval letter and contract outlining the terms and conditions of the grant. Once the grant has been paid to your organisation, you will be required to report on the progress of the grant on a quarterly basis. This will be explained in your contract.
Once you are a successful applicant, please ensure that you stick to the project implementation timeline, activities and budget lines. If, at any time, you need to make changes, you must contact APCA for approval. A failure to meet the compliance requirements of the grant may result into:
What to do if your application is not successful
If your application is not successful, you will receive a letter of regret from APCA. Please feel free to request any clarification from APCA if required. We know that all organisations that apply for small grants have interest in the programme and are doing important work in palliative care.
[1] World Health Assembly, May, 2014. Sixty-Seventh World Health Assembly. Strengthening of palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course. [pdf] Available at: <http://www.oeci.eu/Attachments%5CA67_R19-en.pdf>