For the purpose of implementing the GH Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Activity, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is accepting applications from eligible entities for cooperation agreements.

The GH Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Activity is a five-year cooperation agreement that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) intends to invest in to help countries achieve the intended gains in health and development outcomes.

In order to support the generation and application of new learning, strengthen local organisational and technical capacity, and encourage local leadership of SBC programming for better, more comprehensive, and longer-lasting outcomes, the GH SBC Activity will expand on current USAID investments in SBC research and programming, including both global and bilateral projects. The project will fulfil a global leadership role within SBC by generating, synthesising, and catalysing the application of evidence-based and theory-informed SBC in diverse programme settings to accelerate the achievement of global health and development goals; and by working through new and existing partnerships to create opportunities for locally-driven, innovative, and cost-effective SBC programmes.

Together with a non-exclusive focus on family planning, reproductive health, malaria, and the health of mothers, newborns, and children, the project's main objectives include health, environmental conservation, agriculture, food security, and nutrition. It takes into account the priorities of USAID, localization, gender integration, youth involvement, the improvement of health systems, the inclusion of climate change. The initiative intends to increase the capacity of national systems, develop evidence for successful SBC programming, and plan, implement, and oversee locally-led SBC programming.

Gender equality, youth empowerment, health system strengthening, climate change mitigation, and localization are prioritised as cross-cutting issues in the project.

Uneven capacity among local actors, limited use of evidence-informed approaches, inadequate programming that transforms gender, inadequate integration into health systems, weak monitoring systems, lack of readiness for coordinated responses from SBC, challenges in accessing global evidence, and unexplored opportunities to incorporate new technologies and media into SBC research and programming are the top challenges facing SBC.

Don't miss out on the application deadline which is 29-May-24.