OpportunityTitle: The Girls Empowerment through Education and Health Activity (ASPIRE)
CategoryExplanation: Education, Health, Water and Sanitation.
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: (1) Eligible Entities: Applicants who are eligible to apply are U.S. or non-U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private voluntary organizations (PVOs), faith&amp;#8208;based and community organizations, or educational institutions, who are able to respond in person through oral applications.    To be eligible for award of a Cooperative Agreement, in addition to other conditions of this RFA, organizations must have a politically neutral humanitarian mandate, a commitment to non&amp;#8208; discrimination with respect to beneficiaries and adherence to equal opportunity employment practices. Non&amp;#8208;discrimination includes equal treatment without regard to race, religion, ethnicity, gender, and political affiliation.
Description: The Girls&#146; Empowerment through Education and Health Activity (ASPIRE) will improve reading skills for girls in upper primary school so they have the foundation of reading to be able to succeed in secondary school. ASPIRE&#146;s focus on reading is a continuation of what the Early Grade Reading Activity is already doing in lower primary school. ASPIRE will focus on all primary and secondary schools in Balaka and Machinga districts which are two of USAID/Malawi&#146;s focus districts under its Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS). Interventions will achieve the following outputs: Output 1: Reading skills for girls in upper primary school improved; Output 2: Adoption of positive sexual and health-care seeking behaviors, and social norms among youth ages 10-19 increased; and Output 3: Key structural and cultural barriers for girls&#146; access to schooling decreased. Implemented together, the three Outputs [improved reading skills (Output 1) supported by increased sexual and health seeking behaviors (Output 2) and decreased structural and cultural barriers to girls&#146; education through community support and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) interventions at schools (Output 3)] will lead to improved achievement of girls in upper primary and secondary school.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: gsuya@usaid.gov
GrantorContactText: GIDEON SUYA &lt;br/&gt;CONTRACTS SPECIALIST &lt;br/&gt;Phone 2651772455