FY23 DRC RFSA RFA_Public Comment.pdf

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 1 of 90

Draft RFA Issue Date: January 3, 2023

Deadline for Public Comments: February 2, 2023

Closing Date: TBD

Closing Time: TBD

Subject: DRAFT - Request for Application (RFA) Number: 720BHA23RFA00001

Program Title: Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Resilience Food

Security Activity (RFSA)

Federal Assistance Listing Number: 720BHA23RFA00001

Applicants:

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking applications for a

Cooperative Agreement from qualified entities to implement the FY23 DRC RFSA. Private voluntary organizations or cooperatives, including U.S. and non-U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), may apply. Public international organizations are also eligible to apply.

USAID intends to make an award to the applicant(s) who best meets the objectives of this funding opportunity based on the merit review criteria described in this RFA subject to a risk assessment. Eligible parties interested in submitting an application are encouraged to read this RFA thoroughly to understand the type of program sought, application submission requirements, and selection process.

To be eligible for award, the applicant must provide all information as required in this RFA and meet eligibility standards in Section C. This funding opportunity is posted on www.grants.gov, and may be amended. It is the responsibility of applicants to regularly check the website to ensure they have the latest information pertaining to this notice of funding opportunity and to ensure that the RFA has been received from the internet in its entirety. USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from the transmission or conversion process. Applicants who have difficulty registering on www.grants.gov or accessing the APS, should contact the Grants.gov Helpdesk at 1-800-518-4726 or via email at support@grants.gov for technical assistance.

USAID may only award to applicants that comply with all applicable Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and

System for Award Management (SAM) requirements detailed in Section H.4. The registration process may take many weeks to complete. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to begin registration early in the process.

Please send any questions to the point(s) of contact identified in Section D. The deadline for questions is shown above. Responses to questions received prior to the deadline will be furnished to all potential applicants through an amendment to this notice posted to www.grants.gov.

Issuance of this notice of funding opportunity does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the

Government nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or http://www.grants.gov/ mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 2 of 90 submission of comments/suggestions or an application. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant. All preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.

Thank you for your interest in USAID programs.

Sincerely, Matthew Nims

Agreement Officer, Title II

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Section A - Program Description 4

Section B - Federal Award Information 19

Section C - Eligibility Information 21

Section D – Application and Submission Information 23

Section E - Application Review Information 64

Section F - Federal Award and Administration Information 69

Section G - Federal Awarding Agency Contacts 71

Section H - Other Information 72

Appendix I: Definitions 83

Appendix II: Information for Apparently Successful Applicants 86

Appendix III: Key Resources 87

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Section A - Program Description

This funding opportunity is authorized under the Food For Peace Act of 2018 and 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. BHA Resilience Food Security Activities (RFSAs)

USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (USAID/BHA) is committed to enhancing the resilience of vulnerable populations around the world. USAID/BHA’s resilience programming helps save lives, strengthen livelihoods, and build people’s capacities to better manage shocks and stresses. Using all of these approaches, USAID/BHA strengthens capacities of vulnerable populations to combat malnutrition, reduce morbidity and mortality, promote economic growth, minimize disaster risks, improve food security, and adapt to climate change. USAID/BHA uses a multi sectoral, integrated activity design that sustainably improves outcomes, as well as strengthens the adaptive, absorptive, and transformative capacities of vulnerable communities.

2. BHA Strategic Priorities

a) BHA Vision

BHA’s vision is to provide global leadership in humanitarian response, promote human welfare, alleviate suffering, and create the foundations for transformative change and self-reliance. BHA is dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by crisis, unconditionally and impartially, so that all whom we serve are treated with dignity and respect.

b) BHA Mission

BHA’s mission is to save lives, alleviate human suffering, and reduce the physical, social, and economic impact of rapid and slow-onset disasters by supporting at-risk populations to build stable foundations for the future. BHA is fully committed to implementing USAID’s mandate as the lead U.S. Government coordinator for international disaster response.

c) The Early Recovery, Risk Reduction, and Resilience Strategic (ER4) Framework

BHA provides the foundations for transformative change and self-reliance through support of early recovery, risk reduction, and resilience (ER4) programs. The goal of BHA’s ER4 Strategic Framework is to ensure that vulnerable people have improved capacity to manage risk; to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to shocks and stressors; and to engage in positive, transformative change. While BHA considers all of its programs to be humanitarian assistance, RFSAs typically focus on longer-term outcomes related to resilience, reducing the need for ongoing and recurrent humanitarian assistance, and laying the foundations that enable development activities to create pathways out of poverty.

3. U.S. Government and USAID Strategic Priorities

a) USAID Resilience Policy and Initiative

The increasing frequency and intensity of shocks, combined with the growing pressures of chronic stressors, and the interconnectedness of global systems requires USAID to reconsider how it helps people, https://www.usaid.gov/humanitarian-assistance/what-we-do/early-recovery-risk-reduction-resilience

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 5 of 90 communities, and systems adapt and prosper amidst these challenges. In evermore complex risk environments, strengthening resilience of households, communities, and systems is essential for achieving and sustaining human well-being and dignity. See USAID’s Building Resilience to Recurrent Crisis:

USAID Policy and Program Guidance for more information.

b) Global Food Security Strategy

The U.S. Government’s Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) 2022–2026 is an integrated, whole-of-government approach that aims to sustainably reduce global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition through the Feed the Future initiative. The highest level objectives of the GFSS are to reduce poverty and stunting levels by 20 percent in the targeted areas, and improve resilience. The strategy also aims to address crises that threaten to undermine global food security progress by responding to challenges, including COVID-

19, conflict, inequity, and climate change.

c) Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy

USAID’S Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy 2014–2025 addresses both direct and underlying causes of malnutrition, with the stated objective to scale up effective, integrated nutrition-specific and -sensitive interventions, programs, and systems across humanitarian and development contexts. The highest level objectives of the global Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy include:

● Decreasing chronic malnutrition, measured by stunting, by 20 percent.

● Reducing the number of stunted children by a minimum of 2 million.

● Maintaining Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) below the emergency threshold of 15 percent

● Improving nutrition to save lives, build resilience, increase economic productivity, and advance development.

● Reducing malnutrition in women of reproductive ages (ages 15-49) and children under five, with a specific focus on the 1,000 day window from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday.

d) Climate Strategy

USAID’s Climate Strategy 2022–2030 is a whole-of-Agency approach to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, help partner countries adapt to climate change by building resilience, and improve our operations, guided by a single, overarching goal: to advance equitable and ambitious actions to confront the climate crisis. The strategy also supports the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and

Resilience (PREPARE). BHA will focus on advancing climate adaptation and therefore activities that enhance resilience and reduce the vulnerability of people, places, systems, and livelihoods to actual or expected impacts of climate change, including through improved use of information, planning, and action.

4. Country Development and Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)

The RFSA programming will align, where appropriate, with the 2020-2025 DRC CDCS. The CDCS’s goal is, “A More Peaceful and Prosperous DRC with Improved Opportunities for Communities and

Individuals to Thrive.”

The first Development Objective (DO) is, “Responsiveness of Public Institutions to Citizens” Needs

Improved.'' Interventions in the new RFSAs may include strengthening community-based organizations, other non-governmental entities, and local government institutions, to increase transparency and accountability in areas such as taxation, land tenure, and water resource management.

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/USAIDResiliencePolicyGuidanceDocument.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1870/USAIDResiliencePolicyGuidanceDocument.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/agriculture-and-food-security/us-government-global-food-security-strategy https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1867/USAID_Nutrition_Strategy_5-09_508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/climate/strategy https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-PREPARE-Plan.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Full-PREPARE-Plan.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Public_CDCS-DRC-12-2025.pdf#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20USAID%2FDemocratic%20Republic%20of%20the%20Congo%E2%80%99s,Improved%20Opportunities%20for%20Communities%20and%20Individuals%20to%20Thrive.

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Under the second DO, “Community Resilience Increased,“ RFSAs will partner with key local stakeholders to localize development decision making to improve food and water utilization and associated behaviors at the household and community levels. RFSAs may support sustainable land use and may coach farmers on improved agricultural techniques; revitalize local markets; and build collaboration between producers’ organizations and value chain actors (including the private sector).

Achieving sustainable food, nutrition, and economic security (FNES) outcomes in the DRC requires partners to find local solutions to tackle climate change, address gender inequalities, and build the capacity of community structures, all of which are key components of the CDCS.

Finally, the third DO is, “Inclusive, broad-based, and sustainable economic growth increased.” RFSAs are well positioned to enhance local enterprises and income generating activities (IGAs), expand financial inclusion, and improve agricultural livelihoods, contributing directly to the achievement of this DO.

5. Background and Context

Humanitarian needs in the DRC are enormous. The DRC ranks 179 out of 191 countries on the Human

Development Index, and an estimated 72 percent of the population lives in poverty. According to the most recent Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) Chronic Food Insecurity analysis, Kasai Province is at level 4

(severe chronic food insecurity); while Kasai Central and Tanganyika are at level 3 (food insecurity).

Furthermore, the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) (2018) indicates stunting levels among children under five in Kasai is 47.4 percent, Kasai Central is 53.7 percent, and Tanganyika is 18.7 percent. The MICS data also indicate that among children 0 - 5 months only 30.1 percent in Kasai, 47.6 percent in Kasai Central, and 55.3 percent in Tanganyika are exclusively breastfed. Additionally, the

MICS data show that only 11.2 percent of households in Kasai, 8.5 percent of households in Kasai

Central, and 40.9 percent of households in Tanganyika access basic water services within 30 minutes of their home. Finally, only 6.2 percent of households in Kasai, 10.4 percent of households in Kasai Central, and 19.2 percent of households in Tanganyika have access to improved sanitation facilities.

FNES in the DRC is driven by a combination of factors including, but not limited to: conflict, insecurity, pests, economic shocks, epidemics, climate events, poor infrastructure, individual and family shocks, a lack of agricultural development, insufficient external investment, and the exploitation of natural resources. The situation in the DRC continues to be dynamic and unpredictable, with multiple shocks and hazards further exacerbating chronic needs. Shocks and stressors are pervasive—whether related to health, economics, natural hazards, increased climate variability, environment, or conflict. The DRC scores low on indicators related to health risk exposure, political violence, adaptive capacity to climate change, and civil conflict. Additionally, people suffer from high rates of food and nutrition insecurity, extreme poverty, and displacement. Chronic conflict and neglect have stripped many communities of their security, livelihoods, and social safety nets, leaving them ill-equipped to cope and recover from shocks.

According to the IPC Acute Food Insecurity analysis, the DRC is the largest food security emergency in the world with an estimated 26.5 million people experiencing acute food insecurity. While conflict and population displacement are key drivers, chronic and extreme levels of poverty, lack of economic opportunity and weak agricultural production are responsible for much of these staggering numbers.

Some factors that contribute to low agricultural production in Tanganyika, Kasai, and Kasai Central include:

● A lack of good agricultural practices and extension services.

● A lack of access to farming inputs including tools; improved seeds, cuttings and seedlings; crop protection products; and fertilizer.

● Poor soil quality (especially in Kasai and Kasai Central where soil is often sandy and acidic).

● Deforestation.

https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index?utm_source=EN&utm_medium=GSR&utm_content=US_UNDP_PaidSearch_Brand_English&utm_campaign=CENTRAL&c_src=CENTRAL&c_src2=GSR&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1ZGcBhCoARIsAGQ0kkpZ7kb9PgADn9dUgolYPVMqKtJ2jES8IkOxV1u5EBJ8IoRD_OSjBJIaAm2tEALw_wcB#/indicies/HDI https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index?utm_source=EN&utm_medium=GSR&utm_content=US_UNDP_PaidSearch_Brand_English&utm_campaign=CENTRAL&c_src=CENTRAL&c_src2=GSR&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1ZGcBhCoARIsAGQ0kkpZ7kb9PgADn9dUgolYPVMqKtJ2jES8IkOxV1u5EBJ8IoRD_OSjBJIaAm2tEALw_wcB#/indicies/HDI https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1037095/?iso3=COD https://mics-surveys-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/MICS6/West%20and%20Central%20Africa/Congo%2C%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20the/2017-2018/Survey%20findings/Congo%2C%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20the%2C%202017-18%20MICS%20SFR_French.pdf https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1155972/?iso3=COD

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● Cultural norms impacting gender roles and responsibilities in agriculture.

● Livestock diseases such as Virulent New Castle Disease or Peste des petits ruminants/Plague of

Small Ruminants.

● A lack of appropriate equipment for fishing, technologies for fish farming, drying, and storage and implementation of appropriate period for fishing.

● Crop diseases such as Cassava Brown Streak and insect and pest attacks such as Fall Armyworm.

● Negative effects of climate change such as periods of drought, flooding, or erratic rainfall and poor natural resource management such as deforestation.

The DRC context is characterized by weak provision of state services providing clean water and sanitation, health, and nutrition services to populations. Given the gap in state services, rural populations either rely on external development and humanitarian actors, traditional healers, or use alternate coping strategies such as collecting poor quality drinking water from streams and rivers. Additionally, access to safe, diverse, and nutrient rich food is a clear problem, especially for poor and extremely poor Congolese who have limited purchasing power. Diet quality is a challenge that extends beyond insufficient knowledge of which foods are best to improve diets of women, girls, and children under two.

While the provinces selected for the RFSA, Kasai, Kasai Central, and Tanganyika are generally more stable, prior violence and conflict in these areas have caused repeated displacement, decreased livelihood opportunities, limited government services, hindered infrastructure development, damaged natural resources, and increased disease outbreaks. Additionally, climate projections indicate increased temperatures, increased incidence of droughts and floods (potentially leading to landslides and erosion), and increased precipitation variability. Agriculture within these provinces is highly dependent on rainfall and current climate variability already negatively impacts crop productivity, livestock rearing, and fisheries, potentially contributing to worsening food insecurity.

In Tanganyika province, interethnic conflict between the Twa and Bantu ethnic groups continues to be a destabilizing and destructive reality. This conflict has led to significant population displacement and food insecurity. While Kasai and Kasai Central provinces have largely stabilized since the Kamuina Nsapu conflict that occurred between 2016-2018, there are still pockets of intercommunal conflict that persist, and the threat of a resurgence in conflict is ever present. Additionally, natural hazards have contributed to food insecurity. Tanganyika has had recent events such as flooding along the banks of lake Tanganyika, an outbreak of cassava brown streak virus, and elephants trampling crops in Manono territory. Kasai and

Kasai Central have experienced periods of drought and erratic rainfall and livestock diseases.

The lack of thriving, profitable enterprises and income generating opportunities, on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm, have led to chronic and pervasive poverty in Kasai, Kasai Central, and Tanganyika. This lack of economic opportunity means that households do not have enough cash to cover household expenses such as food, clothing, education, health care, improved sanitation, and access to clean water. Extreme poverty also serves as a social stressor that contributes to sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) and intercommunal and interethnic conflict.

Poor road and bridge infrastructure leaves rural communities isolated from urban markets, impacting agricultural producers and those with other enterprises and IGAs. Producer organizations and individual farmers, fishers, and livestock producers often lack the linkages needed to access inputs, extensions services, and buyers. Enterprises and farmers lack improved storage infrastructure and post-harvest handling practices, which leads to a significant amount of post-harvest losses. Additionally, agricultural enterprises are challenged by a lack of business knowledge and poor management.

Financial services that could enable small business creation, expansion, or consistency of cash flow are largely unavailable to rural populations within the target provinces. The inability of rural populations to https://fscluster.org/sites/default/files/documents/Maladies%20animales%20en%20RDC%20Cluster%20%2030%20oct%202013.pdf

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 8 of 90 access and use credit or capital stifles the start up and growth of small businesses and IGAs and hinders the ability of smallholder farmers to increase agricultural and livestock production. Youth and women in particular have difficulty starting IGAs due to a lack of start-up capital.

6. Goals, Objectives, and Outcomes of the Activity

The goal of the activity is for FNES to be sustainably improved among vulnerable households

(HH).

a) Purposes, Sub-purposes and Cross-Cutting Themes

The desired high-level purposes, sub-purposes and cross cutting themes are as follows:

● Strategic Purpose 1: Strengthened livelihoods and increased incomes

○ Sub-purpose 1.1: Improved usage of credit and capital

○ Sub-purpose 1.2: Increased profitable, diverse enterprises and IGAs

○ Sub-purpose 1.3: Increased sustainable agricultural production

● Strategic Purpose 2: Improved utilization of quality food among vulnerable people

○ Sub-purpose 2.1: Improved maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviors

○ Sub-purpose 2.2: Improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors

● Cross Cutting Themes:

○ Risk Reduction and Resilience

○ Governance

○ Gender, Youth, Social Inclusion, and Patterns of Power

○ Climate Adaptation

To the extent the RFA provides example activities, these are provided only as examples. Applicants are not limited to these activities nor are they required to include these illustrative activities in their applications.

b) Integration across purposes

Throughout the design and implementation, partners will be expected, to the extent possible, to integrate

Purpose 1, 2, and cross-cutting themes across the same participant population. By focusing on the same participant population, this approach will ensure that communities benefit from the full suite of activities planned under both purposes, which are meant to holistically address food, nutrition, and economic security. For example, purpose 1 interventions linked to increasing food availability and access will complement purpose 2 interventions that improve food utilization. The graduation approach is one example of an evidence-based approach for effective integration across economic well-being and food and nutrition security. Given the success of the graduation approach, applicants may consider if this methodology is contextually appropriate. Please see Appendix IV for more information on the graduation approach.

c) Purpose 1: Strengthened livelihoods and increased incomes

BHA seeks a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to strengthen livelihoods and increase incomes that ensures vulnerable households are able to meet basic food and nutrition needs in addition to becoming more economically secure. Additionally, BHA seeks market-based approaches that engage both the public and private sector in addressing critical barriers to consistently profitable livelihoods. These approaches should build food and income generating capacity of populations, limit or eliminate subsidies, and increase the likelihood to sustain outcomes. Interventions should address on-farm, off-farm, and/or

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 9 of 90 non-farm livelihoods, specifically prioritizing vulnerable groups as discussed in the cross cutting section on page 12.

(1) Sub-purpose 1.1: Improved Usage of Credit and Capital

BHA seeks creative approaches to improve usage of fair and equitable credit and capital to increase profitable enterprises and agricultural production. Activities may include establishing and strengthening village savings and loans associations (VSLA), facilitating linkages to commercial finance through existing USAID supported loan guarantee programs in the DRC (e.g., Equity Bank), facilitating linkages to micro-finance institutions, and/or providing financial support from the RFSA as a bridge to more sustainable opportunities. As program participants improve their ability to access and use credit or capital, it could contribute to increased agricultural production and increased profitability of off-farm or non-farm livelihoods. Outcomes may include increasing access to credit and savings through the establishment of group-based savings or strengthening linkages to input suppliers, output buyers, and micro-finance institutions. When developing approaches to attain material objectives, BHA encourages partners to consider non-material constraints, such as accessibility for marginalized groups.

(2) Sub-purpose 1.2: Increased profitable, diverse enterprises and Income-Generated

Activities (IGAs)

Applicants should illustrate knowledge of the specific local provincial and territorial context in the DRC when approaching livelihoods development. Applicants should consider aspects of daily life that impact the pursuit of rural livelihoods such as: availability of local resources, existing skills and knowledge including vocational skills and business knowledge, and other factors impacting successful entry to employment, particularly for women and youth. Applications should include on-farm, off-farm, and/or non-farm livelihoods, from self-employment to small business creation, and specifically prioritize the interests of women, youth, and vulnerable groups.

BHA seeks evidence-based approaches to increasing profitable enterprises from a diverse range of on-farm, off-farm, and non-farm IGAs. Activities may include business incubation, start-up grant funding for

IGAs coupled with vocational and business training, strengthening producer groups to become profitable commercial entities, facilitating viable market linkages, improving post-harvest handling, and conserving and managing natural resources. BHA seeks to promote a wide diversity of types of IGAs and to prioritize

IGAs that provide goods and services for which there is an existing or anticipated demand in the market.

Applicants should demonstrate an understanding of the barriers that exist for marginalized groups to start an IGA, and technical approaches should seek to provide inclusive and equitable access to IGA opportunities.

Poor infrastructure hinders agricultural production, economic growth, and trade and is a major factor contributing to food, nutrition, and economic insecurity. BHA encourages inclusion of sustainable for-work assets such as roads and bridges oriented toward improving market access. For-work activities could also include building other communal assets that contribute to the community’s food system such as market infrastructure.

(3) Sub-purpose 1.3: Increased sustainable agricultural production

BHA is looking for a comprehensive approach to improving agricultural production (including crops, livestock, aquaculture, and insects) that takes into account the myriad challenges detailed in section A and provides a robust package of solutions. With regard to access to inputs, potential interventions could include:

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● Improving the local seed systems through support to seed multipliers.

● Facilitating linkages between national institutions such as the Agriculture Research Institute

(INERA) and seed multipliers and the private sector and smallholder farmers.

● Providing small livestock, fingerlings, seeds, cuttings, and seedlings.

Partners are expected to frontload direct assistance to smallholder farmers in the early to middle years of the program and then reduce over time as sustainable systems are established and access to finance improves.

With regard to improving agricultural practices, potential interventions to support farmers and livestock producers could include:

● Providing direct agronomic technical assistance, cascading approaches such as farmer field schools.

● Facilitating assistance by public sector extension workers from Territory Administration of

Agriculture (ITA) or Territory Administration Livestock and Fisheries (PEL).

● Providing private sector advisory services to smallholder farmers engaged in crop and market garden production, livestock, aquaculture, and agroforestry.

Partners should incorporate climate adaptation into interventions focused on improving agricultural practices or facilitating inputs. This could include partnering with INERA to facilitate access to drought-resistant improved seeds. Additional activities could include: use of for-work activities to improve agricultural production such as irrigation canals, fish ponds, and livestock markets. Partners should consider the intersection of gender, youth, social inclusion, and patterns of power in relation to agricultural productivity. Potential activities should be cognizant of women’s time and energy burden and measures should be put in place to ensure selected activities are not too burdensome. Illustrative activities may include social behavior change that improves gender equity with regard to household chores, childcare, and engagement in agricultural production. For additional information on gender, youth, and patterns of power see page 13.

Sustainable agricultural production is dependent on successful natural resource management (NRM) interventions that contribute to climate adaptations. These may include the restoration, conservation, and protection of natural resources. Applicants should design interventions to address biophysical problems, social factors, and when possible, the enabling environment, with the goal of improving both food and nutrition security. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consider the use of nature-based solutions (NbS), especially complementary interventions with proposed built (or “gray”) infrastructure.

d) Purpose 2: Improved utilization of quality food among vulnerable people

Improved utilization of food among vulnerable people is essential to reducing food and nutrition insecurity. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explains food utilization as follows:

“If food is available and HHs have adequate access to it, the next question is whether or not HHs are maximizing the consumption of adequate nutrition and energy. Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals is the result of good care and feeding practices, food preparation, dietary diversity and intra-HH distribution of food, and access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene and healthcare. Combined with good biological utilization of food consumed, this determines the nutritional status of individuals.”

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BHA recognizes that improved utilization of food is critical to achieving food and nutrition security outcomes. Nutrition programming should target individuals who are most vulnerable to malnutrition within a given household, including pregnant and lactating women, children under two, and adolescent girls. BHA requests that applicants address the individual, social, and structural determinants of malnutrition, offering a multi-sectoral package of targeted nutrition-sensitive activities and appropriate linkages to nutrition-specific interventions.

The applicant should prioritize a manageable number of key behaviors that will have the greatest impact in achieving project outcomes at the purpose and sub-purpose levels. Partners should describe how the activity will address barriers and enablers to adoption, including social norms.

(1) Sub-purpose 2.1: Improved maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviors

USAID expects applications to demonstrate an understanding of the cultural and contextual factors that contribute to poor food utilization and to propose approaches that are relevant and responsive. USAID seeks creative, holistic, and sustainable approaches to improving nutrition behaviors. USAID encourages applicants to select between three to five key maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviors.

Illustrative examples may include and are not limited to:

● Immediate breastfeeding

● Exclusive breastfeeding

● Feeding of children during illness

● Treatment of diarrhea

● Frequency of feeding children 6-23 months

● Women's dietary diversity and dietary diversity of children 6-23 months

Approaches must go beyond focusing on the mother-child dyad and work at the individual, family, and community levels. BHA supports participatory approaches to community nutrition such as the

Community Based Nutrition (NAC) approach implemented by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and

National Nutrition Program (PRONANUT). Additional information can be found in Appendix IV.

Applicants should examine a range of approaches and modalities to improve the access to diverse, nutrient rich foods and locally available fortified foods. These may include social behavior change (SBC) activities that promote improved infant and young child feeding practices, improved dietary diversity, and shared decision making in the household, leading to improved household allocation of food. These, combined with improved WASH and health seeking behaviors, are essential to improve utilization of food among vulnerable people. Sustained improvements in key nutrition behaviors will require SBC approaches that are linked to improved access to diverse and quality food.

(2) Sub-purpose 2.2: Improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) behaviors

Equitable and affordable access to sustainable WASH infrastructure is a precondition to improving

WASH behaviors. Additionally, applicants should seek to increase community and household-level actions to prevent waterborne diseases while taking into consideration the enabling environment.

Applicants will need to propose evidence-based solutions that demonstrate an understanding of the DRC contextual challenges such as:

● A lack of demand for and access to sustainable sanitation infrastructure.

● Poor water supply governance and life-cycle costing options.

● Inability to pay usage fees, unsustainability of WASH infrastructure and approaches.

● Structural and environmental WASH challenges, such as sandy soil.

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Where and when possible, applicants should attempt to adapt or adopt sustainable WASH approaches implemented through other USAID investments. Applicants should consider approaches that contribute to sustainable access to improved sanitation and hygiene options that are community-informed, equitable, and demand-driven. Illustrative activities may include:

● Implementing behavior change activities to:

○ Increase proper hand washing practices.

○ Increase safe water storage, handling, and household treatment practices.

● Establishing community based approaches to sustainable operations and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities.

● Reducing the social and individual barriers to sanitation services uptake.

● Coordinating and aligning with government aligned approaches to promoting hygiene and sanitation practices.

● Collaborating with the WASH service providers to increase market access for sanitation infrastructure and hygiene products and services.

● Monitoring and protecting sources for improved water quality.

● Repairing, rehabilitating, and/or constructing water supply systems.

e) Cross Cutting Themes

The following themes are critical to successful RFSA implementation : 1) risk reduction and resilience; 2) governance; 3) gender, youth, social inclusion, and patterns of power; and 4) climate adaptation. These themes influence both Purpose 1 and Purpose 2 pathways so are cross-cutting rather than separate causal pathways. BHA expects partners to integrate these themes throughout the RFSA Theory of Change

(TOC).

(1) Risk Reduction and Resilience:

Increased self-reliance is possible when the DRC’s citizens are better able to proactively reduce, mitigate, and manage risks and adapt to and recover from shocks and stressors. BHA expects RFSA partners to promote ways to anticipate and reduce risks by strengthening absorptive, adaptive, and transformative resilience capacities. Some examples of intervention approaches include incorporation of a conflict-sensitive approach with inclusive intervention targeting and proactive community level planning to prepare for shocks.

Additionally, BHA is committed to strengthening the resilience of individuals, households, communities, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stressors across all purposes. Resilience means being able to manage through adversity and change without compromising future well-being. Resilience requires absorptive, adaptive and transformational capacities. As applicants propose specific interventions, it will be important to describe in detail how each intervention will strengthen resilience, for whom, and to what shocks and stressors. Applicants should

(1) identify the underlying causes (stressors) that perpetuate poverty traps and hinder resilient outcomes; (2) mitigate risks through appropriate and impactful interventions; (3) enhance human and social capital; and (4) articulate how activities will be rolled out, and how improvements will be measured and reported. Applicants should identify risks stemming from both man-made stressors (e.g., inflation, civil unrest) and climate-related shocks and stressors,1 explaining how the specific interventions will strengthen absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities. Additionally, 1 When describing how activities will address relevant climate risks, applicants must also highlight approaches in the

Environmental Safeguards Plan in Annex 9. Climate risk management is further described in the Environmental Compliance section below.

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 13 of 90 applicants should discuss potential risks of maladaptation. Applicants are encouraged to consider additional resilience-related resources available through ResilienceLinks.

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:

● Complement or build on existing risk reduction programs and draw from best practices and lessons learned.

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

● 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.

● Describe how strong participation from communities and multi-stakeholders’ involvement will be included in the development and implementation of risk reduction interventions, encouraging ownership for sustainability of interventions.

(2) Governance

Inclusive and effective governance is essential for impactful, sustainable RFSA programming. At the community level, RFSA partners will address governance issues when working with community groups such as village savings and loans associations (VSLAs), producers’ organizations, and water management committees. The design and implementation of RFSAs also require engagement with local government offices like the Provincial Division of Gender, the Inspector of Rural Development, and Agriculture, Fishery, and Livestock Inspectors. Applicants should elaborate on how stakeholders at various levels will be engaged over the life of the activity and beyond in the targeted province.

(3) Gender, Youth, Social Inclusion, and Patterns of Power

Food, nutrition, and economic insecurity are multi-dimensional challenges requiring a thorough understanding of contributing factors and appropriate solutions that address distinct and intersectional needs. For example, applying an intersectional approach requires understanding and identifying the intersection of gender and age with other factors of social exclusion. Examples of other factors to consider throughout the design include ethnicity, marital status, polygamy, and forced and early marriage.

Overcoming barriers to change requires understanding patterns of power and addressing norms relating, but not exclusive to, gender, youth, and other types of social exclusion factors at play within HHs, communities, and local systems. The integration of these cross-cutting themes throughout the RFSA will result in the positive change needed to ensure equitable, inclusive food, nutrition, and economic security outcomes.2

BHA promotes a focus on young people as positive change agents who bring creativity, energy, commitment, and novel perspectives to understanding and addressing food insecurity in their communities. Applicants are encouraged to pursue inclusive and Positive Youth Development (PYD) strategies that view young people as key partners in development efforts, from nutritional programming to

2 Suggested Approaches for Integrating Inclusive Development Across the Program Cycle and in Mission Operations https://www.resiliencelinks.org/home https://usaidlearninglab.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/additional_help_for_ads_201_inclusive_development_180726_final_r.pdf

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 14 of 90 strengthening agricultural markets to building food secure communities.3 Applicants should take into account the unique challenges, tensions, and expectations that young people face, disparities and constraints faced by the different youth cohorts related to different age segments, youth’s participation in the agriculture/food system, marital status or parentage, as well as the differing nutritional needs by sex, age, and life situation in the RFSA interventions. Applicants should also consider the unique opportunities the various youth cohorts bring to the program. BHA encourages applicants to consult

USAID’s 2022 updated Youth in Development Policy for more information.

Applicants must integrate and mainstream gender considerations throughout the activity design, ensuring that it is responsive to these issues through all stages of the RFSA program cycle. Applicants should also describe how meaningful participation and leadership among women, youth, indigenous peoples, local communities, and other marginalized and/or under-represented groups will be increased. Integration of gender informed and responsive approaches must be context-appropriate and reflected throughout the activity. Promoting women and girls’ self-determination—and transforming gender relations for the better are equally vital for attaining equitable and sustained FNES. BHA encourages applicants to consult

USAID’s 2020 Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Policy for more information.

(4) Climate Adaptation

Addressing the impacts of the climate crisis requires a holistic approach and RFSA partners must take into consideration the ever-changing climatic conditions in the DRC throughout activity design and implementation. Predicted climate impacts should inform adaptation efforts, and RFSA applicants should consider climate risks that could potentially impact program objectives. Additionally, applicants are expected to design climate-smart interventions while being mindful not to cause additional harm through their own operations.

f) Title II Commodities

Subject to the availability of funds and commodities, applicants must request Title II commodities.

BHA’s most recent list of Title II commodities can be found in BHA's FY23 November Commodity

Calculator, and Commodity & Ocean Estimates document. At least 25 percent of the life of award (LOA)

RFSA budget must be allocated to commodity procurement, ocean and inland transportation, and Internal

Transportation, Storage, and Handling (ITSH). ITSH funds can only be programmed in conjunction with commodities sourced from the United States. Monetization is not authorized. All resource requests must be appropriately justified.

RFSA partners will be expected to indicate how Title II commodities will contribute to the stated purposes, sub-purposes, and cross cutting themes as appropriate. BHA expects applicants to take a holistic approach to the use of Title II commodities and creatively incorporate Title II commodities into interventions that contribute to achievement of the overall program goal. BHA expects applicants to propose the integration of commodities in support of both purposes, or provide strong justification as to why an alternate approach is proposed. BHA is open to approaches that include unconditional and conditional distribution of food in support of both Purpose 1 and 2 objectives. Additionally, when proposing unconditional food assistance, applicants should use a do no harm approach that avoids disincentivizing engagement in Purpose 1 activities related to livelihoods and food production and that could contribute to aid dependency. For example, applicants are encouraged to consider the agricultural calendar in the timing of unconditional transfers, aligning potential food distributions with the lean season.

3 Promoting Positive Youth Development https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USAID-Youth-in-Development-Policy-2022-Update-508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USAID_GenderEquality_Policy_MT_WEB_single_508.pdf https://www.usaid.gov/documents/bha-fiscal-year-2023-commodity-calculator https://www.usaid.gov/documents/bha-fiscal-year-2023-commodity-calculator https://www.usaid.gov/documents/bha-fiscal-year-2023-commodity-and-ocean-freight-price-estimates http://www.youthpower.org/positive-youth-development

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 15 of 90

Applicants are encouraged to review available market data and analyses including USAID commissioned assessments (Appendix IV). Furthermore, applicants should indicate how the proposed resource transfers and work norms are aligned with in-country standards. For more information, particularly concerning eligible uses of Section 202(e), and ITSH funding, please refer to USAID/Bureau for Humanitarian

Assistance Functional Policies (BHAFP) 20-01.

5. Programming Principles

BHA is committed to taking actions that uphold and are consistent with the four humanitarian principles, which are broadly accepted by international humanitarian stakeholders and enjoy wide recognition in the international community. These are the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

For BHA, this commitment translates into action on the ground through the following programming principles:

a) Design for People-Centered Approaches

BHA is committed to keeping the interests and the voices of the most vulnerable people at the center of its work, and to crafting responses based on the strengths, priorities, risks, and needs of the target population. Creating opportunities for vulnerable populations requires working in partnership with them, understanding their resources and capacities, as well as the broader systems that support them through formal and informal institutions and social dynamics. People-centered approaches require addressing challenges—such as conflict, gender inequalities, shocks, and stressors—that may undermine opportunities for positive change and provide linkages to newly emerging or previously out-of-reach resources, services, and catalysts for change. Unique community power dynamics; existing community tensions related to natural resource management; and different livelihoods, gender, age, social class, physical capabilities, and political or religious affiliation are all important factors to consider.

b) Prioritization and Focus

BHA strongly discourages approaches that have too many wide-ranging interventions. Applicants are therefore expected to analyze the context of the specific territories and health zones of operation, and prioritize capacities and needs to develop programs specific to that context and the targeted populations.

In low resource environments, the full sweep of context-specific needs and opportunities can easily exceed the capacity of any one activity to respond comprehensively and effectively. There are limits, in addition, to the level of change in knowledge, attitudes, and practices that individuals, households, and communities can absorb. Effective programming will identify leverage points and factors that address key drivers of need and seek to prioritize and sequence a limited number of interventions. Partners must complete analysis and prioritization of factors for each system and objective. Prioritization and focus on a limited number of factors affecting each purpose or objective of an applicant's RFSA is key. Lessons learned from previous RFSA evaluations have indicated that projects often try to respond to all determinants of food insecurity and malnutrition. The results have limited success. Some interventions are successful, while others are not implemented at all or are only successful at a very small scale due to a lack of prioritization and focus.

c) Strive for Sustainability

In its goal statement, BHA has increased its commitment to investing in improved FNES for vulnerable populations in a manner that supports long-term and self-perpetuating change and the continued well-being of the vulnerable populations with which BHA works. Embodied in this commitment is the need to understand the operating environment, including existing or residual conflict dynamics, and to strengthen https://www.usaid.gov/documents/bha-functional-policy-20-01

RFA No. 720BHA23RFA00001 Page 16 of 90 formal and informal local systems to increase the potential…