CFPs: Improving access to Lifesaving tools for Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Pre-eclampsia and Maternal Anemia

Deadline Date: February 12, 2025

Donor Name: UNITAID

Grant Size: More than $1 million

Unitaid is pleased to announce this Call for Proposals aimed at accelerating uptake and strengthening the market for new and underused products and delivery strategies for pre-eclampsia and maternal anemia.

The organization is launching two calls for proposals. Proponents may apply to one or both. If applying to both, then two separate proposals are required.

Categories

• Call for Proposals 1: Accelerate demand and adoption of new and underused tools through optimized and locally tailored models of care for pre-eclampsia and maternal anemia:
  • Unitaid is soliciting proposals to accelerate uptake and consistent use of available, underutilized tools to address PE and anemia in high-burden LMICs through large scale, multi-country demonstration projects with robust evidence generation to inform broader uptake. 
  • In terms of target commodities – projects should include a comprehensive focus on preventive, diagnostic and management tools for both pre-eclampsia and anemia across the care cascade.
  • Projects should undertake demonstration activities that catalyze adoption of tools and delivery strategies across different levels of the health system in select geographies in intervention countries. 
  • Demand generation and advocacy activities should also be included in projects, with the purpose of raising awareness and knowledge, and building political support for programs.
  • Planning for and catalyzing national scale of the approaches and models of care will be an essential consideration for proposal selection.
  • Along with addressing the key product-specific access barriers, increased access to and consistent utilization of ANC services is considered an essential mechanism to increase uptake of new and underused tools. 
  • Strategy implementation should be supported by prioritized and appropriately scoped evidence generation that responds to pertinent knowledge gaps. 
  • Ongoing, strong stakeholder engagement throughout project implementation will be critical to driving demand and adoption of PE/E and anemia interventions. 
• Call for Proposals 2: Supply-side activities to support equitable access to pre-eclampsia and anemia products:
  • This Call is also soliciting proposals to advance targeted product development, market access or other supply-side activities for a distinct subset of products. 
  • Proponents can apply to one or all outlined areas, with a preference for proposals including a consortium capable of comprehensively covering all areas:
    • Support product development, validation, and introduction of new and highly affordable point-of-care biomarker-based diagnostics for PE (indicative budget: up to US$ 8m)
    • Support validation of the digital blood pressure measurement tools and implementation research on their introduction for self-monitoring in pregnancy (indicative budget: up to US$4m)
    • Establish anemia diagnostic landscape and direction through market coordination (indicative budget: up to US$4m)
    • Targeted supply-side activities for available PE products (indicative budget: up to $6m)
    • Targeted supply-side activities to strengthen the market for modern IV iron (indicative budget: up to US$3m) 

Funding Information

• Call for Proposals 1: The approximate funding allocation for work outlined in Call for Proposals 1 is expected to be up to US$ 25 million – with a balanced emphasis on PE- and anemia-focused activities.
• Call for Proposals 2: for Call for Proposals 2, the approximate funding allocation is expected to be up to US$25 million, with the expected allocation per area. 

Eligibility Criteria

• Unitaid is seeking a project from a consortium that is led by a South-based implementer – i.e. an organization that is headquartered in a low-or middle-income country.
• Proponents should clearly describe their overall project design with a Theory of Change, showing how it meets the objectives of the initiative and how the proposed activities form part of a coherent whole. Proposals should explicitly state what impact will be achieved within the project life-time, as well as what, and how, lasting impact will be achieved. 
• Consortia may apply for either or both Calls for Proposals. Unitaid has a preference for proposals that undertake the full complement of activities described for each Call for Proposals. Consortia should clearly demonstrate strong expertise in the different technical and market intervention areas needed to undertake the project, including the implementation of large-scale multi-country projects, and product focused activities.
• Beyond the consortium, broad collaboration with relevant stakeholders will be vital to achieving the project objectives, including effective coordination mechanisms and well-articulated partnerships. Proponents should clarify the key stakeholders with whom they will engage, and how this will be achieved. It is important to include a country engagement model that outlines coordination and cooperation with countries in decision making around tailoring the design of elimination programs, monitoring introduction, and assessing impact. By actively involving government stakeholders in all phases of planning and implementation, projects will gain valuable insights into local contexts, policy frameworks, and stakeholder priorities. This collaboration will lead to more informed and effective project design, increased buy-in from government partners, and greater sustainability of project outcomes beyond the grant funding period.
• Applicants should be clear about the underlying assumptions made in their proposed approach and should highlight any major risks or other factors that may affect the delivery of results. Finally, proposals are expected to outline a lean, concrete and clear pathway to results and impact.

For more information, visit UNITAID.