Final Draft NOFO West Africa DRR MYAPS Round 05.pdf

Issuance Date: December 16, 2024 Deadline for Questions: January 8, 2025, 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) Closing Date: February 10, 2025 Closing Time: 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time)

Subject: Round 05 - West Africa Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) Activity under BHA Multi-Year Base Annual Program Statement (MYAPS) 720BHA23APS00002

Program Title: BHA MYAPS: Round 05 - West Africa ER4 Activity

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 98.001

Introduction

Interested Applicants:

PLEASE NOTE: This Notification of Funding is Round 05 for full applications under existing “Multi-Year Annual Program Statement No. 720BHA23APS00002”.

All interested organizations should carefully review both this Round AND the full MYAPS, which can be found here: GRANTS.GOV. Important information contained in the full Base MYAPS is not repeated in this specific Round 05 documentation. Should there be differences between the two, this Round will supersede information in the base document. As such, both documents should be read in conjunction to ensure all application requirements are met.

Round 05 of the Multi-Year Annual Program Statement (MY APS) No. 720BHA23APS00002 (referred to as Round 05) West Africa ER4 Activity is requesting the submission of applications focused on strengthening the abilities of individuals, communities, institutions, and systems in at least two of the three targeted countries, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Togo to prepare for natural hazards without losing development gains. USAID anticipates issuing one award under Round 05. Unless otherwise stated herein, all terms and conditions of the MY APS apply.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, /s/ Christie Savage Agreement Officer https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/348888

Table of Contents:

SECTION A: Program Description

SECTION B: Federal Award Information

SECTION C: Eligibility Information

SECTION D: Application and Submission Information

SECTION E: Application Review Information

SECTION F: Federal Award and Administration Information

SECTION G: Federal Awarding Agency Contact

SECTION H: Other Information

ANNEX I: Standard Provisions

ANNEX II: Budget Template

SECTION A: Program Description This funding opportunity is authorized under the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) of 1961, as amended. The resulting award will be subject to 2 CFR 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, and USAID’s supplement, 2 CFR 700, as well as the additional requirements found in Section F.

1. Overview of Office/Division sponsoring the round

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) works to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the impact of disasters by helping people in need become more self-reliant. BHA is responsible for planning, coordinating, developing, achieving, monitoring, and evaluating international humanitarian assistance falling into two conceptual areas: 1) humanitarian response during emergencies and

2) Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience (ER4) activities to address longer-term recovery after emergencies.

BHA’s Office of Africa (OA) designs, provides, and assesses humanitarian assistance, including assistance related to responding, recovering from, and reducing the risk of human-made and natural hazards, while linking with other USAID investments that build resilience. This program will be sponsored by the West Africa Division (WA) while activity management will be managed by the Chad, Cameroon and Coastal West Africa Team.

2. Program Overview

Overview of BHA Risk Reduction Programming Disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity, exacerbated by increased risk exposure as well as lack of governance, rapid and unplanned urbanization, population growth, degradation of natural resources. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction: 2015-2030 (SFDRR), adopted by the United States Government (USG) in 2015 and supported by USAID BHA, marked a clear shift in focus to an integrated and anticipatory disaster risk management approach and anticipatory actions; from managing disasters to managing the processes that create risks. As the lead bureau in USAID on DRR, BHA has been a champion of addressing and adapting a systemic risks and multi-hazard vulnerabilities approach by integrating the drivers and complexities of systemic risk, vulnerabilities and capacities into risk reduction programming.

BHA programs have shifted from a need to raise awareness for why planning, preparedness, and risk reduction matters, to understanding the drivers of systemic risk and how to better manage and mainstream disaster risk reduction across BHA sectors.

BHA defines risk reduction as the prevention of new risk, reduction of existing risk, and management of residual risk, all of which contribute to strengthening resilience. USAID is committed to designing its disaster risk reduction and resilience programming to fulfill the goal of the SFDRR:

Prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political, and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience.

Risk reduction strategies are those that help people prepare for and respond to shocks and hazards; they increase the ability of vulnerable populations to reduce new or manage existing risks, including extreme weather events. Risk reduction strategies are preventive in nature and are implemented ex ante – that is, before a shock or hazard occurs. Examples include:

community based DRR; early warning systems for early action; neighborhood approach to reduce disaster risk; diversifying livelihoods; using drought-tolerant or flood-resistant crop varieties; nature-based solutions for flood management; using insurance products;

strengthening health services; using household savings and social capital in order to access social safety nets; and improving DRR strategies, policies and disaster preparedness and contingency planning at all levels (e.g., community, local, national).

Risk Reduction Requirements:

Applicants must address the risk of recurrent natural hazards throughout the application. It is important that applicants consider interventions that strengthen people’s capacity to anticipate, cope with, and recover from future shocks by addressing the underlying drivers of risk affecting them. Applicants are encouraged to use risk-informed approaches for all interventions and identify key hazards, vulnerability and exposure, and risk reduction strategies in the overall activity design. Interventions should not only meet immediate needs but also strengthen the ability of people to handle future crises considering systemic risks. Applicants should refer to Base MYAPS Sections A.2.1 and A.3 as well as addressing the following:

● Explain how specific interventions will serve to strengthen disaster risk management (DRM) capacities, policies, plans, or lead to strategies on any/all levels.

● As appropriate, describe how to integrate relevant governmental and disaster management agencies into the interventions and contribute to national risk reduction plans or strategies promoting institutionalization and sustainability.

3. Background

West Africa Context The INFORM Risk Index1 ranks all the countries in West Africa—with the exception of Cabo Verde—as medium, high, and very high for disaster risk. The region experiences both man-made and natural hazards—political instability and armed conflict cause humanitarian needs, and many of the countries, all ranked in the bottom third of the Human Development Index (HDI), also experience localized flooding during the annual rainy season, impacting up to three million people in recent years. Flooding is both offset by or occurs concurrently with drought.

1 INFORM Risk https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-Risk

Cyclones and storms are less common but do cause damage and displacement, especially in coastal areas, though high winds during storms can cause localized damage throughout the region. The region is also prone to disease outbreaks, which are exacerbated by weak health systems.

An increase in some of these impacts has already been seen in 2024, as torrential seasonal rains and subsequent flooding from May to September has impacted over 4.4 million people across West Africa. This was a nearly tenfold increase from the number of people affected by flooding across West Africa in all of 2023 and among the most severe flooding impacts recorded in the region in decades. While at the same time, drought conditions in July and August 2024 resulted in large-scale crop loss in Ghana, negatively affecting the food security and livelihoods of approximately 400,000 people across the country. As impacts from extreme weather events continue to worsen and threaten West Africa, it is more and more critical to invest in strengthening DRR in the region.

Geographic Priorities While there are significant disaster risks across coastal West Africa, this activity focuses on countries and locations with appropriate government frameworks and capacity for DRR, combined with high vulnerability to hazards, specifically hazards related to flooding, landslides, or other rapid onset events. Countries were chosen based on the opportunity for program interventions to improve disaster risk management capacity, emphasizing countries with strong disaster risk management and hazard monitoring systems (Ghana and Sierra Leone), and institutional commitment to strengthening capacity (Togo).

Ghana

Ghana is home to 34.5 million people, making it the second most populous country in West Africa. The Ghana risk profile is characterized by exposure to multiple hazards including hydrogeological (flood, drought and storm), biological (endemics/ pandemics of infectious diseases), as well as technological (infrastructure failure, industrial failure) and geophysical (earthquakes) hazards. Ghana is most at risk to droughts, coastal erosion, floods, and landslides. The country is also facing conflict-related displacement in Upper West and Upper East areas of the country and as of January 2024 hosts around 11,000 officially registered refugees and asylum seekers mainly from Burkina Faso, Togo, Liberia, and Sudan2.

Most recently, drought conditions negatively impacted the food security and livelihoods of approximately 400,000 people across the country due to drought conditions in July and August of 2024. An estimated 436,000 farmers in eight of Ghana’s 16 regions experienced significant crop loss, with many losing more than 75 percent of their anticipated yield, according to the Government of Ghana, the World Bank, and the UN. The most-affected crops—including maize, groundnut, rice, and yam—are among staple foods critical for maintaining food security in

2https://www.unhcr.org/us/countries/ghana#:~:text=As%20of%20January%202024%2C%20Ghana,seekers%20yet %20to%20be%20registered.

https://www.unhcr.org/us/countries/ghana#:%7E:text=As%20of%20January%202024%2C%20Ghana,seekers%20yet%20to%20be%20registered https://www.unhcr.org/us/countries/ghana#:%7E:text=As%20of%20January%202024%2C%20Ghana,seekers%20yet%20to%20be%20registered

Ghana. In addition to drought, Ghana has also been impacted by recurrent flood events. For example, in 2023, floods in Northern Ghana impacted more than 35,000 people and inundated 45,326 ha of croplands. In 2015, approximately 45,000 people in the greater Accra area were impacted by heavy rains and flooding. The World Bank reports that between 1980 and 2020, floods represented 46% of the natural hazard occurrence, followed by epidemics at 40%.

Ghana’s National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) was established in 1996 to manage disasters and similar emergencies in the country. NADMO, situated within the Ministry of Interior, developed the country’s National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) and possesses a comprehensive structure with representation at all levels of government, making it well-positioned to play a key role in DRR. The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) is the primary authority for meteorological data collection, processing, and dissemination, as well as the primary provider of early warning information. The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) helps in the mapping of the population’s exposure to hazards and vulnerability through capacity and vulnerability assessments around the country. Recent DRR work includes a new initiative to establish a suitable framework for effective management of DRR that is led by NADMO and supported by the United Nations. This effort will build off the findings from a 2022 Diagnosis of Capacities to Manage Disaster Risk3.

Sierra Leone

With a population of about 8.6 million people, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, scoring 0.477 on the Human Development Index and ranking 181st out of 191 countries, according to UNDP’s 2021/2023 Human Development report4. Sierra Leone is exposed to a range of natural hazards including weather events, hydrological hazards, geological hazards, pest hazards and ecological hazards. Additionally, epidemics such as cholera in 2012 and Ebola in 2014-2015, present health hazards to the country. According to the Government of Sierra Leone’s Disaster Risk Financing Strategy & Implementation Plan 2024- 2029, the country has experienced more than 300 disaster events over the past 25 years5. The most prevalent hazards impacting the most people in Sierra Leone are flooding and epidemic outbreaks. While epidemics are the most frequently occurring hazard, the impact of seasonal flooding is more extensive, impacting the highest number of people per incident than other hazards.

Sierra Leone is highly vulnerable to natural hazards, including periodic flooding, landslides and drought which are likely to be intensified. With a wet tropical climate resulting in greater rainfall than the more typical West African tropical wet and dry climate, Sierra Leone’s rainy season runs from May to October. During this period, discharges and runoff are high and rivers may overflow their banks with flooding prevalent in many areas of the country, as well as an elevated risk of landslides. Between 1996 and 2022, epidemics led to the deaths of over 5,000

3 https://www.cadri.net/system/files/2024-08/Ghana%20Capacity%20Diagnosis%20Report%202022.pdf 4 UNDP, 2021/2023 Human Development report 5 Government of Sierra Leone, Disaster Risk Financing Strategy & Implementation Plan 2024 - 2029 https://www.cadri.net/system/files/2021-06/Ghana-National-Plan-of-Action-for-DRR-and-Climate-Change-Adaptation_0.pdf https://www.cadri.net/system/files/2024-08/Ghana%20Capacity%20Diagnosis%20Report%202022.pdf https://mof.gov.sl/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SL_DRFS-FINAL-_compressed.pdf people, the vast majority of this number - 4,000, were caused by the ebola epidemic of 20146.

Sierra Leone’s health care system could not contain the devastating epidemic and suffered substantially more than other countries in the region due to limited capacity and infrastructure required for spotting, tracking and controlling the epidemic. Similarly, the outbreak of cholera two years earlier affirmed significant weaknesses in the country’s healthcare system.

To more effectively manage and respond to disasters throughout the country, the Sierra Leonean Parliament passed legislation in 2020 creating the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), establishing offices and sub-offices nationwide, including the national, regional, district, and chiefdom disaster management committees. NDMA includes disaster prevention, disaster risk reduction in its mandate and coordinates and implements all aspects of disaster management, including governance, policy, planning, inter-agency coordination, training, and response. NDMA is considered to be strong for the region, but because it is relatively new, some roles and responsibilities remain unclear. The National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) is the highest disaster-related policy-making body, primarily responsible for coordinating and managing national disasters and is supported by the regional, district, and chiefdom disaster management committees. Local governments support the NPDRR and NDMA managing level one disasters and the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) is responsible for social protection and cash transfers for vulnerable individuals, including those affected by disasters.

Togo

Home to approximate 8.9 million people, Togo has a 32 mile coastline along the Gulf of Guinea and is made up of six different geographic regions. Togo's HDI value for 2022 is 0.547— which puts the country in the Low human development category—positioning it at 163 out of 193 countries and territories in UNDP's Human Development report. Togo is exposed to various hazards which include floods, coastal erosion, landslides, bush fires, high winds, and epidemics.

Togo is frequently hit by a range of hydro-meteorological disasters, notably floods and droughts. Recurrent floods often have negative socio-economic effects on the population, the environment, and the economy. Soil erosion, coastal erosion, and deforestation are also of major concern, exacerbating the effects of flooding. These floods have been particularly devastating over the past ten years with the occurrence of extreme weather events including severe prolonged precipitation followed by flooding, strong winds, coastal erosion, droughts, wildfires, and marine submersion.

Drought events occur most frequently in the northern, especially in the Kara and Savannah regions, where each year temperatures reach above 40°C. Over the past 70 years, Togo has experienced three major droughts (between 1942-1943, 1976-1977, and 1982-1983) and less acute but notable drought events impacting food security. In terms of the total number of people affected, floods and droughts are the most severe hazards (600,000 and 550,000

6 Government of Sierra Leone, Ministry of Finance, Disaster Risk Financing Strategy & Implementation Plan 2024-respectively from 1970 according to EM-DATA) with floods causing the highest number of fatalities.7 Epidemics also pose a risk to the country as Togo was impacted by the ebola outbreak in 2014, as well as a cholera outbreak in 2013, Lassa fever outbreak in 2016, and a meningitis outbreak in 2016.8 Since November 2021, northern Togo has experienced the spillover effects of the conflict in Burkina Faso, where attacks by terrorist armed groups sporadically disrupt typical livelihood activities, trade flows between Burkina Faso and Togo, and drives displacement, including refugees fleeing conflict in Burkina Faso.

Initially, the Togolese Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MERF) had been entrusted with the responsibility for disaster reduction in Togo in October 2006. The MERF hosted the Disaster Risk Reduction platform until 2017, when Togo adopted a National Disaster Law that created the National Civil Protection Agency (ANPC) with a mandate to ensure disaster prevention and management, focusing on considerably reducing the loss of human life and material damage.

The ANPC is responsible for overseeing the Emergency and Civil Protection Plan (Plan Organisation des Secours et de la Sécurité Civile (ORSEC)) and the National Contingency Plan (Plan National de Contingence (PNC)). Additionally, Togo’s National Meteorological Agency (ANAMET) is the national organization focusing on meteorology and climatology in Togo.

ANAMET’s main objective is to provide users in all sectors with accurate and timely meteorological information and services. ANAMET also oversees the monitoring of the atmospheric environment, the calibration of meteorological instruments within the national meteorological observation network, and the dissemination of hydrometeorological disaster warnings.

4. Theory of Change Narrative

If USAID/BHA supports communities and local authorities to improve their use of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems at sub-national and community levels; and if the linkages between national and sub-national bodies are enhanced; and if local disaster response planning and preparedness capabilities are strengthened; then vulnerable communities will be better equipped to anticipate, mitigate, and reduce their own disaster risk and be more resilient to predictable disasters, thereby reducing humanitarian needs.

The theory of change focuses on capacity building at the community, local, and national authority levels. This approach will enable longer-term sustainability at the local and national level leading to resilient communities better able to prepare for and respond to disasters. The theory aims to empower communities with high risk exposure to independently reduce their disaster risk. While such interventions could be of immense value in numerous localities across West Africa, the potential is the greatest in Ghana, Togo and Sierra Leone due to government willingness, existing DRR structures, and need. Within this geography, the areas with the lowest connections between local and national government preparedness and response capacity and the most disaster-risk-exposed communities are the greatest priority.

7TOGO Project Proposal 8 Togo Disasters | ReliefWeb https://crews-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/workdoc6_8th_Steering_Committee_CREWS_Togo_0.pdf https://reliefweb.int/disasters?advanced-search=%28C231%29

5. Activity Goal, Purpose, and Focus

Overall Activity Goal The overall goal of this activity is to strengthen the abilities of individuals, communities, institutions, and systems in at least two of the three targeted countries, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Togo to prepare for natural hazards without losing development gains. This goal will be supported by the following purposes: (1) to increase access to and use of multi-hazard early warning systems, particularly at subnational and community levels; (2) to support and enhance DRR structures, including linkages between national and subnational/local structures; and (3) to strengthen and enhance community resilience to predictable disasters. The success of this activity will depend on strong linkages between national, subnational, and local levels.

Activity purposes and Illustrative Interventions

a. Goal

Strengthen the abilities of individuals, communities, institutions, and systems in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and/or Togo to prepare for natural hazards without losing development gains.

b. Activity Purposes

Purpose 1: Increase access to and use of multi-hazard early warning systems particularly at sub-national and community levels.

● Build and strengthen linkages between community early warning such as last-mile messaging and national frameworks.

● Support making early warning accessible by and usable for local communities to inform their early/anticipatory action.

● Link use of early warning data to preparedness initiatives (Purpose 3) to ensure forecasts and early warning data can be used to take anticipatory and early action.

Purpose 2: To support and enhance DRR structures, including linkages between national and sub-national/local structures.

● Build and strengthen linkages between Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), UN, and other regional meteorological/information platforms and national initiatives.

● Ensure meaningful, inclusive participation of local voices in government DRR and DRM planning.

● Support socialization and operationalization of national DRR laws, plans, and policies.

● Partners should help facilitate intra-government coordination on DRR when possible.

Purpose 3: To strengthen and enhance community resilience to predictable disasters.

● Build empowered community and local emergency response capacity with linkages to national coordination entities and resources.

● Support community DRR activities: building community awareness of disaster risks; DRR and emergency preparedness and response planning; pre-positioning of relief supplies;

scenario planning and simulations linked to forecasted events; development and mobilization of disaster risk management plans; and training on disaster management and DRR. Approaches should be highly participatory, and planning should utilize local indicators.

● Strengthening local governance: partner with local government entities to incorporate DRR strategies into existing development and planning frameworks; strengthen DRR policies to ensure/establish clear and specific roles and responsibilities for DRR within local governance structures; and promote inclusive decision-making processes.

● Integrate a crisis modifier to allow small-scale response activities for local organizations in the event of a disaster in target communities, including technical assistance to supported DRR committees and local governments, as needed. Plan early and anticipatory action interventions linked to early warning information to address potential disaster needs before the impacts are fully felt. Please see the below section on “Partnerships and Capacity Building” for additional details.

USAID recognizes that the governments of these countries have made significant investments in their DRR structures and that other donors and organizations are also supporting DRR program implementation and development. Because of this, proposed interventions should utilize existing structures where possible, revitalizing or strengthening where necessary and building upon lessons learned. For example, USAID currently supports the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) and applicants should utilize learning from their locally led DRR efforts. Applicants should avoid creating new groups, platforms, and systems and instead focus on strengthening existing institutions wherever possible. In some cases, DRR structures or institutions may exist, but are lacking budget planning and/or execution or face other institutional barriers to successfully carry out their mandate. USAID encourages applicants to consider a wide range of innovative capacity building interventions or solutions that might be necessary to improve the linkages between national and sub-national or local entities.

Given limited resources, Applicants should leverage resilience and other activities for DRR. Any reliance on community groups for early warning, preparedness, and response must be accompanied by strong sustainability plans and community-level interventions should be complemented by state and national engagement across disaster management agencies and line ministries. Given the scale and scope of this round, Applicants should not propose infrastructure interventions, however, USAID does encourage and support the use of nature based solutions as appropriate. Additionally, the purchase of forecasting equipment should be accompanied by a strong justification for the cost effectiveness and sustainability of the proposed intervention.

Geographic focus and participant targeting Applicants must propose to work in at least two of the three priority countries: Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Applicants may propose to work in all three target countries dependent on resources and their capacity to do so. For each selected country, applicants should propose specific geographic areas and target populations for local-level activities. Applicants should select their target areas based on vulnerability to multiple types of shocks, level of sub-national disaster risk management capacity, and local political commitment to strengthen disaster risk management capacity. Applicants should prioritize areas and communities with whom they have existing and established relationships. Prioritization of assistance should also consider layering and collaborating with other USAID activities and avoid duplication of effort with other donors. The Applicant will define the approach; however, the final local geographic area will be decided in discussion with USAID.

Partnerships and capacity strengthening The West Africa DRR activity aligns with USAID’s Policy on Locally Led Humanitarian Assistance9.

USAID is committed to put local communities at the center of humanitarian work. Local organizations are often the first to respond to humanitarian crises, offer unique contextual knowledge and expertise, and have deep connections with affected communities. Partnerships with local actors are vital to providing accountable, effective, and efficient humanitarian assistance. This activity will build on USAID’s long history of working with local partners. USAID views the involvement of local organizations as a key factor for successful implementation.

Applicants must include a sub-award to at least one local organization in each selected target country. Applicants must demonstrate how they plan to constructively build the capacity of the sub-awardee organizations, rather than simply delegating tasks, as well as leverage their contextual understanding to better achieve the goal of this activity.

● The recipient must strengthen the capacity of at least one local subrecipients for each selected target country.

● The applicant must demonstrate their institutional capability and organizational experience to develop the capacity of subrecipients.

● The applicant must demonstrate their capacity-building approach for the local organizations that is comprehensive and goes beyond technical capacity building to prepare the local organization to directly receive donor or other direct funding.

● The implementation of the crisis modifier in Purpose 3 will be limited to the sub-awardee local organizations in each selected country.

Partnerships also include long-term relationships with government disaster management or other related agencies, as well as local communities. As such, USAID highly encourages

9 https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/policies-and-reports/locally-led-humanitarian-assistance#:~:text=USAID%20is%20committed%20to%20putting,deep%20connections%20with%20affected%20co mmunities.

https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/policies-and-reports/locally-led-humanitarian-assistance#:%7E:text=USAID%20is%20committed%20to%20putting,deep%20connections%20with%20affected%20communities https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/policies-and-reports/locally-led-humanitarian-assistance#:%7E:text=USAID%20is%20committed%20to%20putting,deep%20connections%20with%20affected%20communities https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/policies-and-reports/locally-led-humanitarian-assistance#:%7E:text=USAID%20is%20committed%20to%20putting,deep%20connections%20with%20affected%20communities applicants to apply that have robust experience and relationships at national, sub-national, and local levels with key stakeholders in DRR in the targeted countries under this round.

Inclusion Marginalized populations are often more severely affected by disasters. It is critical that DRR activities address the differentiated needs, vulnerabilities, and existing capacities of communities and marginalized populations to better increase adaptive capacities to cope with the effects of disasters and ensure a tailored approach. For example, women’s limited access to information and knowledge increases their disaster vulnerability and risk, and that of their families. This is exacerbated by the fact that with limited access to or control over household financial resources and lack of property or inheritance rights, women are left with few resources when disasters occur, and face heightened risk of gender-based violence following a disaster. Persons with disabilities and older adults are also often disproportionately affected by disasters and have different and uneven levels of resilience and capacity to recover. Many are socially or logistically isolated and lack access to evacuation warnings and appropriate transportation for themselves, for those who care for them and any medical equipment necessary for their well-being. Programs must be inclusive and accessible with diverse participation and leadership in order to be effective and sustainable. Applicants must include an articulated approach to ensure meaningful inclusion of marginalized groups, considering age, disability, gender, and other socio-economic and cultural factors when developing program interventions and selecting program participants.

Conflict Sensitivity Applicants must take into account the role that conflict and fragility may play in the program and the interlinked nature of disaster and conflict risks. Some of the coastal countries are receiving spillover effects of the Sahel crisis that could impact dynamics in activity focal areas.

Considering the context in the target areas, applicants should incorporate conflict-sensitive approaches and considerations to minimize unintended negative outcomes, taking into consideration potential displacement, food insecurity, and political instability in operating contexts.

SECTION B: Federal Award Information

1. Estimate of Funds Available and Number of Awards Contemplated

USAID intends to award one Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this notice of funding opportunity. Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide $7,500,000 in total USAID funding over a five year period. USAID reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.

2. Expected Performance Indicators, Targets, Baseline Data, and Data Collection

This Multi-Year Annual Program Statement (MYAPS) round falls under BHA’s Emergency Application Guidelines (EAG) Disaster Risk Reduction Policy and Practice (DRRPP) sector and related subsectors, as well as the Climate keyword. All award(s) for this round will have the expected outputs described in Table B.1 below.

Table B.1 Expected Outputs

Expected Output or Indicator

When Due Description End-of-Activity Target

Annual Work Plan

Finalized post-award with substantial involvement of

USAID/BHA.

Final draft submitted no later than 30 days post-award.

The work plan must include a brief description of the discrete efforts being undertaken with a timeline for those efforts. Starting with year 2, annual work plans should also include a review of accomplishments; challenges encountered;

progress towards achieving specified results; and a dissemination plan, including proposed channels.

1 per year

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Draft submitted during application, finalized post-award.

The Monitoring approach includes robust data collection methods, strategies for remote and context monitoring, and mechanisms for ensuring data quality, data protection and beneficiary feedback.

Adequate resources and budget allocation should also be demonstrated to effectively support the monitoring plan. Evaluation approach includes the evaluation's purpose, proposed types, key evaluation questions, and the methodologies to be employed, along with other relevant details.

1 per activity to be updated as necessary

Collaboration and Learning Plan

Finalized post-award Approach to engaging with BHA and other partners throughout the project.

1 per activity to be updated as necessary

Baseline Final draft due 90 days after the award start date

Includes the study's methods, data sources, analysis plan, timeframe, person responsible, locations, and limitations.

1 per activity

Mid Term Evaluation

Draft due two (2) years after award start date

Discusses findings from data collection and analysis to strengthen implementation.

Includes integration and triangulation of quantitative and/or qualitative findings.

1 per activity

Expected Output or Indicator

When Due Description End-of-Activity Target

Final Evaluation Scope of Work (SoW) due 6 months before award end date. Draft due 45 days after the estimated completion date of implementation; final draft due 90 days after award end date.

Discusses findings from data collection and analysis to assess its overall effectiveness and determine if the intended outcomes were achieved. Includes integration and triangulation of quantitative and/or qualitative findings.

External evaluation conducted by an internal team led by an experienced team leader, who is external to the organization, or by an external firm. Partner staff who are not substantially engaged in the design or implementation of the activity under evaluation may participate in the evaluation. USAID staff may also participate in the evaluation.

1 per activity

3. Start Date and Period of Performance for Federal Awards

The anticipated total period of performance is five years. The estimated start date will be on/or about September 2025.

4. Substantial Involvement

Per Section B.4 of the Base MYAPS and in accordance with the ADS 303.3.11, the cooperative agreement awarded through this Amendment will require the following elements of substantial involvement:

● Approval of Implementation Plan

● Direction or redirection of award-funded activities because of interrelationships with other projects/activities (e.g., monitoring, coordination)

● Approval of Annual work-plans

● Approval of Mid-Term Evaluation (MTE) SOW, final report and post-evaluation utilization and action plan

● Approval of Specified Key Personnel

● Approval of local geographic focus areas

● Approval to enact the crisis modifier

See Base MYAPS section B.4 for additional guidance on Substantial Involvement.

5. Authorized Geographic Code

See Base MYAPS Section B.5.

https://www.usaid.gov/about-us/agency-policy/series-300/303

6. Nature of the Relationship between USAID and the Recipient

See Base MYAPS Section B.6.

7. Transition Awards

The following language will be included in the resulting award, and the applicant must plan accordingly in its approach:

This activity will incorporate a transition award component in accordance with ADS 303mbb.

The recipient is responsible for developing the capacity of local subrecipients and tracking progress towards meeting the criteria for a direct transition award, if funds become available for such an award, through baseline and follow-up capacity assessments. The inclusion of this transition award component does not guarantee that USAID will issue a direct award to any subrecipients. Before recommending a subrecipient for a transition award, the recipient must demonstrate that the local entity has met the following criteria:

● Is registered in all applicable USG systems (for example, System for Award Management);

● Has demonstrated technical and management experience;

● Has the ability to use relevant IT systems;

● Has demonstrated an ability to maintain relationships with stakeholders;

● Has well-defined indicators of success and the ability to monitor its own program performance in a cost-effective and efficient manner;

● Has the necessary staff with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to carry out a program;

● Has proficiency of financial management systems and internal controls;

● Can address other general areas that would indicate potential success in managing specific technical programmatic areas; and

● Can meet the other pre-award requirements, including the risk assessment, and the required representations and certifications.

SECTION C: Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted. See Base MYAPS Section C.1. for additional information.

Because this award will use International Disaster Assistance (IDA) account funding, authorized in the Foreign Assistance Act, applicants must be a U.S. or non-U.S. non-governmental organization (NGO) or a Public International Organization (PIO). USAID defines an NGO as any nongovernmental organization or entity, whether non-profit or profit-making, including hospitals, universities, and for-profit corporations.

Further, the organization must be a legally-recognized, organizational entity under applicable law, legally registered in the country/countries of operation.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching

Cost sharing is not required under this MYAPS round.

3. Additional Requirements for New Applicants

See Base MYAPS Section C.3.

4. Other

See Base MYAPS Section C.4.

SECTION D: Application and Submission Information

1. Agency Point of Contact

All communications concerning this application, including its appendices and technical references, must be submitted in writing by no later than the closing date and time indicated on the cover letter to: BHA.720BHA23APS00002-05.WADRR@usaid.gov.

2. Questions and Answers

Questions regarding this MYAPS Round 05 should be submitted via email to BHA.720BHA23APS00002-05.WADRR@usaid.gov no later than the date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Any information given to a prospective applicant concerning this MYAPS round will be furnished promptly to all other prospective applicants as an amendment to this MYAPS round, if that information is necessary in submitting applications or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to any other prospective applicant.

3. General Content and Form of Application

Preparation of Technical Applications:

Each applicant must furnish the information required by this MYAPS round. Technical Applications must be submitted in whole. Please see subsection 5, below, for information on all content specifically required in the Application.

The Technical Application must include a cover page containing the following information:

● Name of the organization(s) submitting the application

● UEI (See Base MYAPS Section D.7g)

● Identification and signature of the primary contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address) and the identification of the mailto:BHA.720BHA23APS00002-05.WADRR@usaid.gov alternate contact person (by name, title, organization, mailing address, telephone number and email address);

● Program name

● Notice of Funding Opportunity / MYAPS round number

● Total estimated amount of the program

● Name and UEI of any proposed sub-recipients or partnerships (identify if any of the organizations are local organizations, per USAID’s definition of ‘local entity’ under ADS 303)

Any erasures or other changes to the application must be initialed by the person signing the application. Applications signed by an agent on behalf of the applicant must be accompanied by evidence of that agent’s authority, unless that evidence has been previously furnished to the issuing office.

All documents must be completed in accordance with the format detailed in this MYAPS and must adhere to the following:

● Written in English and in 12-point Calibri font;

● Text in tables or charts may be 10-point Calibri font;

● Narratives must be prepared in Microsoft Word or compatible equivalent with print areas set to 8.5 x 11 inch, letter-sized paper with one-inch margins, left justification and a footer on each page including page number, date of submission, proposed country, and applicant name;

● Spreadsheets must be prepared in Microsoft Excel or compatible equivalent, with print areas set to 8.5 x 11 inch, letter-sized paper;

● Official (signed) documents, memoranda, and certifications may be submitted as Adobe PDF files, with one-inch margins; and

● Faxed or hard copy applications are not accepted.

The applicant may be required to submit certain documents in order for the Agreement Officer to make a determination of financial responsibility. Applicants may be required to submit any additional evidence of responsibility, as requested, to support the determination, such as:

● Adequate financial resources or the ability to obtain such resources as required during the performance of the award;

● Adequate management and personnel resources and systems;

● Ability to comply with the award conditions, considering all existing and currently prospective commitments of the applicant, both NGO and governmental;

● Satisfactory record of performance - unsatisfactory past relevant performance is ordinarily sufficient to justify a finding of non-responsibility, unless there is clear evidence of subsequent satisfactory performance or the applicant has taken adequate corrective measures to ensure that it will be able to perform its functions satisfactorily;

and

● Integrity and business ethics, along with qualifications and eligibility to receive a grant or cooperative agreement under applicable laws and regulations.

Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant, and all preparation and submission costs for the application are at the applicant's expense.

4. Application Submission Procedures

Competition under this Round will consist of one phase where all prospective applicants will submit a Technical Application. Only the apparent successful applicant will be requested to submit the full application (Technical and Cost). To be considered as a potential recipient, an organization must submit a technical application for an initial competitive review which addresses all purposes of the activity goal laid out in Section A.5 above. If an organization submits more than one application, only the first one received (determined by email timestamp for the USAID POC) will be evaluated.

Technical Applications in response to this Round must be submitted no later than the closing date and time indicated on the cover letter, as amended. Late applications will not be reviewed nor considered.

Technical Applications must be submitted via email to BHA.720BHA23APS00002- 05.WADRR@usaid.gov. Note that emails including all attachments must not exceed 10 megabytes (MB). Please therefore use multiple emails or zip files if needed. Email submissions must include the Base MYAPS solicitation number along with the subsequent round number and applicant’s name in the subject line heading.

USAID’s preference is that the Technical Application be submitted as consolidated email attachments, e.g. that applicants consolidate the various parts of an application into a single document before sending it. If this is not possible, please provide instructions on how to collate the attachments. USAID will not be responsible for errors in compiling electronic applications if no instructions are provided or are unclear.

Applicants determined to be the strongest may be invited to make an oral presentation. The oral presentation will be up to 45 minutes long followed by up to 30 minutes for a question and answer period. The presentation will be done virtually, via Google Meet. Applicants may use slides or other visual aids but the presentation will be held live and may not be pre-recorded.

Participants must come prepared with a presentation that speaks to the applicant’s approach and other application elements, as well as responds to the questions posed by the selection committee. The presentation should go beyond simply transferring the submitted application to slide format. If invited for an oral presentation, USAID/BHA will provide written notification at least 2 weeks prior with a list of questions based on the original application submission.

USAID/BHA reserves the right to ask additional clarifying questions during the presentation.

Following the oral presentation, should an applicant be chosen, USAID/BHA will provide a deadline and any additional submission instructions to the applicant invited to submit a full application consisting of the technical and cost components. Detailed instructions for the cost application can be found in Section D.7 of the Base MYAPS.

One apparently successful applicant will be invited to upload their final application documents to the BHA Application and Award Management Portal (AAMP). The final technical application may be revised based on the questions posed to the applicant by USAID during the oral presentation phase. Applicants must retain proof of timely delivery in the form of system generated documentation of delivery receipt date and time.

See Base MYAPS Section D.4. for additional submission instructions applicable to technical applications and cost applications.

5. Technical Application Format

BHA will require applicants to submit Applications using the format below. Applications, including all required sections, should not exceed 10 pages total, excluding the cover page, executive summary, organizational chart, key personnel CVs, and map of targeted area. The chart below provides guidance according to this MYAPS round. The organization chart and key personnel CVs may be submitted as Annexes at the end of the Application if the applicant prefers.

Required Application Sections

Cover Page Yes (excluded from page limit)

Executive Summary Yes (excluded from page limit, not to exceed one page)

Activity Design Yes

Management Structure and Institutional Capacity Yes (CVs excluded from page limit)

Map of targeted intervention geographic area Yes (excluded from page limit, not to exceed one page per country)

Gender Analysis Summary Yes

Organization Chart Yes (excluded from page limit)

Curriculum Vitae (CV) of Key Personnel Yes (excluded from page limit)

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan Yes https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/partner-with-us

Technical Application Format

a) Cover Page (excluded from page limit)

b) Executive Summary: (excluded from page limit and not to exceed one page)

c) Activity Design

● Theory of Change

● Purpose Overview

● Technical Approach/Program Description

○ Needs Assessment/Context Analysis

○ Activity Specific Targeting and Participant Selection

d) Management Structure and Institutional Capacity

● Management Structure

● Institutional Capacity

● Key Personnel (CVs excluded from page limit)

e) Map of targeted intervention geographic areas (excluded from page limit and not to exceed one page per country)

f) Gender Analysis Summary

g) Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

i) Monitoring Strategy

ii) BHA Sector and Corresponding Indicators

iii) Evaluation Approach

a) Cover Page (See Section D.3 above for requirements)

b) Executive Summary (not to exceed one page)

The executive summary must succinctly summarize:

● The problem statement, including the underlying causes and major determinants of the…