6 January 2009: The HIV Collaborative Fund for Southeast Asia is now requesting proposals for the 2009-2010 cycle of funding from organisations seeking support for community-based HIV treatments advocacy and education programs. Funding is geographically limited to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Any community-based or nongovernmental organisation from these countries working on HIV treatments education and advocacy and related issues is invited to apply for a grant. Grants are provided for a program of up to one year with a maximum of USD 10 000 for individual organisations and up to USD 20 000 for joint applications of two organisations or more. If your organisation is less than one year old, the grant amount requested should be between USD 3000 and 5000. The total amount of funds to be distributed in Southeast Asia is USD 200 000.

If you have received previous grants from the HIV Collaborative Fund, your proposal must show that your project is progressing and that you are moving to a new level of work with innovation or a new aspect rather than continuing the same project. Please include a statement with your proposal on how you will expand your scope, demonstrate your project’s success and what your longer term goals are.

The overall objective of this program is to improve access to HIV treatment for those who need it through treatment literacy and advocacy. 

The priority objectives for projects are:

• Improving access to treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS including treatment education, information, and preparedness for ARVs and OIs

• Overcoming stigma and discrimination toward people with HIV/AIDS and/or vulnerable populations at risk for HIV, including  women, drug users, MSM (men who have sex with men), sex workers, youth and mobile populations (this will assist efforts to increase treatment access for affected communities)

• Capacity building and strengthening the development of PLHIV organizations and other key partners (this will increase the ability for these groups to undertake treatment access projects)

• Supporting projects that focus on advocacy for vulnerable groups, for example: advocacy related to harm reduction or human rights.
 
The inclusion of people living with HIV and/or of people at risk of HIV infection in project development and implementation is an essential criterion for funding.

The project can last for up to one year starting from June 2009-May 2010, but shorter projects will also be considered. If you are interested in the Collaborative Fund, you will need to consider the following documents:

*Request for Proposals – Announcement

*Request for Proposals – Proposal Form

*Request for Proposals – Application Guide

*Proposal Budget Template

 Please also contact Mr. Serkpookiaw if you need any further information or clarifications.

Deadline for submission: 6 February 2009
About the HIV Collaborative Fund: www.hivcollaborativefund.org
About ITPC: www.itpcglobal.org
About Tides: www.tides.org