USAID Community Health Equity through Systems Strengthening (CHESS) Activity in Cameroon

Community Health Equity through Systems Strengthening (CHESS) seeks to advance community participation in national efforts to ensure equitable and universal access to essential health services for all segments of the Cameroonian population. CHESS is a five-year cooperative agreement that will be issued to a local entity (as defined in series 303.6 of USAID’s Automated Directives System) to build community systems that promote health equity in Cameroon.

The CHESS activity will initially contribute to the following priorities outlined in Cameroon’s 2020-2030 National Development Strategy (NDS):

• Contribute to sustainable development goals through a healthy, productive human capital capable of generating strong, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
• Guarantee all segments of the population equitable and universal access to basic health services and care.
• Prioritize specialized quality healthcare, with the full participation of the community. Interventions may be adjusted in future years to align with future NDS.

Goal

• The WHO defines ‘health equity’ as “the absence of unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically or by other dimensions of inequality (e.g. sex, gender, ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation).” USAID/Cameroon, through the CHESS activity, aims to advance community participation in national efforts to ensure equitable and universal access to essential health services for all segments of the Cameroonian population.

Funding Information

• USAID intends to provide $6,023,000 in total USAID funding over a five-year period.

Geographic Scope

• USAID anticipates progressive implementation of the CHESS activity across 150 health districts nationwide. USAID and the award recipient will establish annual geographic targets with the goal of reaching 150 health districts by the end of the third year of implementation. The applicant will be required to propose the number of sites to be reached over the life of the award.

Target Population

• The CHESS award recipient will conduct research to identify social determinants that shape access to essential health services within the framework of Cameroon’s UHC strategy, and the impact of health inequity on health status. This study will identify unreached populations and inform action to help reach these populations over the life of the award. For example, within the context of Cameroon’s HIV response, the program may target PLHIV, children and adolescents living with HIV, and key and priority populations as defined by PEPFAR. Within the context of Cameroon’s malaria response, pregnant women, and children less than five years old may be targeted. The award recipient will continuously assess vulnerability and various dynamics that affect access to essential health services throughout the life of the award.

Expected Results

The CHESS activity will achieve the following results:

• (Result 1) Increased community engagement in the planning, delivery, and monitoring of public health priorities
  • IR 1.1: Improved CSOs capacities to monitor the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health services.
  • IR 1.2: Functional community-based surveillance systems in place, for early case detection and notification
  • IR 1.3. Enhanced community governance for improved human-centered care
• (Result 2) Individuals, families, and communities are equipped with knowledge and tools to adopt health-seeking behaviors
  • IR 2.1: Improved capacity of CSOs to engage in high impact health and human rights promotion.
  • IR 2.2: Increased individual and community demand for essential health services

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility for this NOFO is restricted to local entities (Cameroonian). Local entities are defined in ADS 303.6(b) as follows:

• For the purposes of this section, local entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that—
  • is legally organized under the laws of,
  • has as its principal place of business or operations in,
  • is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of, and
  • managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of a country receiving assistance from funds appropriated under title III of this Act.
• Only Cameroonian Non-US organizations may participate under this NOFO.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.