Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER) | 72061219RFA00005

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72061219RFA00005

Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER) is a USAID Malawi grant opportunity designed as a five-year program to reduce new HIV infections in Malawi, focusing specifically on PEPFAR priority districts and on populations at higher risk or historically underserved by prevention services. The central idea is to expand the reach and consistent use of proven, high-impact HIV prevention interventions, while also strengthening HIV case-finding so that people living with HIV who have not yet been diagnosed can be identified and connected quickly to antiretroviral treatment (ART). In practice, this means the program is not only about preventing transmission, but also about closing diagnosis gaps and accelerating linkage to care as a core part of epidemic control.

The opportunity is structured as a set of cooperative agreements, which typically indicates a more hands-on partnership between the funder and the recipient compared to a standard grant. USAID plans to make up to five awards, with the expectation that local or non-governmental organizations will implement one or more integrated prevention components. The program allows for flexible packaging: an applicant might compete to implement a single component, or propose a larger, combined approach that covers multiple components under one award, depending on capacity, geographic coverage, and technical strategy.

EMPOWER is organized around three main HIV prevention service areas described in the notice. The first is Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC), a well-established biomedical prevention intervention that reduces the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission. USAID anticipates up to two awards for this component, suggesting an intention to support more than one implementing partner to expand service delivery, maintain quality, and meet ambitious coverage targets in priority districts. The second area is DREAMS services for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) paired with HIV case-finding. DREAMS typically refers to a layered package of interventions intended to reduce HIV vulnerability among AGYW by addressing both direct risk and underlying drivers such as gender-based violence, economic insecurity, and barriers to education and health services; the inclusion of case-finding signals an emphasis on identifying undiagnosed infections within these networks and ensuring linkage to treatment. The third area is Comprehensive Condom Programming (CCP), which generally emphasizes not only condom distribution but also demand creation, correct and consistent use messaging, supply chain reliability, and targeted outreach to populations and settings where condoms have the highest preventive impact.

From an administrative standpoint, the funding opportunity is issued by USAID in Lilongwe, Malawi, under the funding opportunity number 72061219RFA00005, and it uses the cooperative agreement instrument. It is categorized under the health funding activity area (CFDA 98.001) and listed as an earmark opportunity. The stated award ceiling is USD 33,000,000, indicating the maximum amount available per award or across the opportunity as specified in the notice, and awards were expected to be made within the overall plan to fund up to five agreements. The original closing date for submissions was October 16, 2019, and the opportunity record was created on August 26, 2019.

Overall, EMPOWER is positioned as a targeted prevention and case-finding initiative meant to help accelerate epidemic control in Malawi by scaling interventions with strong evidence behind them, prioritizing districts and communities most affected, and pairing prevention scale-up with a deliberate push to find undiagnosed HIV cases and link people to ART. The design also reflects a strong role for non-governmental and local organizations as implementing partners, with the ability to coordinate multiple prevention strategies in a single, coherent district-level response when appropriate.

• The Malawi USAID-Lilongwe in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-08-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-10-16. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $33,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 72061219RFA00005

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: