Call for Proposals: Socio-Economic Empowerment of Persons with Albinism in Malawi

Deadline Date: May 28, 2024

 Donor Name: European Commission (EC)

 Grant Size: $500,000 to $1 million

The European Commission (EC) has announced a call for proposals is to empower civil society organisations and to support their efforts to advance and defend human rights, particularly for the most vulnerable categories in society as well as consolidate their role as actors for positive change.

In reference to the EU Gender Action Plan (III), specific interventions aimed at promoting and defending the rights of women and girls that fall within the targeted population should be highlighted.

Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

• The specific objective of this call for proposals is Promotion of Socio-Economic Rights of Persons with Albinism in Malawi. 
• The priorities of this call for proposals are: 
  • Development and implementation of comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic support measures for persons with albinism and their families. 
  • Advocacy and awareness raising among persons with albinism, surrounding communities and key local and national stakeholders regarding human rights, international law standards and key responsibilities of duty bearers to enforce, promote and protect these rights. 
  • Networking with relevant Government agencies i.e. the Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Justice, Police, Judiciary and Civil Society Organisations to influence effective coordination and collaboration of initiatives relating to protection and promotion of rights of persons with albinism.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 600,000. Of this amount, EUR 305,000 will be financed under the 2023 budget and EUR 295,000 will be financed under the 2024 budget.
• Size of grants
  • minimum amount: EUR 500,000
  • maximum amount: EUR 600,000

Duration

• The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 30 months nor exceed 36 months.

Types of Activity

• The key focus for the action must be the development and implementation of comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic support measures for persons with albinism and their families. These activities can be complemented by the following activities: 
  • Advocacy and awareness raising among Persons with Albinism, surrounding communities and key local and national stakeholders regarding human rights, international law standards and key responsibilities of duty bearers to enforce, promote and protect these rights;
  • Networking with relevant Government agencies i.e. the Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Justice, Police, Judiciary and Civil Society Organisations to influence effective coordination and collaboration of initiatives relating to protection and promotion of rights of persons with albinism; 
  • Analysis and action towards strengthening relevant legal and policy frameworks safeguarding protection of persons with albinism; 
  • Provision of medical, psychological and security assistance, legal assistance and counselling and any other relevant support to persons with albinism and their families; 
  • Tracking progress of legal cases and creating awareness around their conclusion; 
  • Increased quality of data on albinism and conduct research to end violence and attacks.

Location

• Actions must take place in five or more of the following districts: Balaka, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Dedza, Ntcheu, Nsanje, Thyolo, Mulanje, Machinga, Mangochi, Phalombe, Salima and Zomba.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant(s)
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be a civil society organization or an Associate of CSOs and specific type of organization and 
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union or eligible non EU Member States as established in Regulation (EU) no 2021/947 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe (NDICI), and
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  • Where the Lead Applicant is an International Organisation, they must act with at least one (1) local co-applicant as specified hereafter.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Where the Lead Applicant is an international organisation, participation of at least one (1) local co-applicant is obligatory. 
  • Where the Lead Applicant is a local organisation, participation of a co-applicant is not obligatory. 
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant. 
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
  • Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
  • If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) will become beneficiaries in the action together with the coordinator)
• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
    • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
      • Control on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
        • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

For more information, visit EC.