Established in 2008, the Community Grants Program aims to better meet the needs of small, grassroots organizations in Kenya seeking support for HIV/AIDS affected communities. These grants are designed to provide one-year assistance to grassroots, community-run projects that work toward HIV prevention and provide care and support to adults and children affected by AIDS. The program aims to strengthen community level responses to HIV and contributes to broadening support for basic health care and support in HBHC and OVC program areas. CGP provides opportunity to develop local organizational capacity to handle future funding from USG and other donors, and transfers more responsibility to manage resources and project activities to local organizations, most of which are led by women. The program aims at enhancing the quality of life of OVC and to reach as many people as possible with HIV prevention or effective home and community-based care through local organizations and rural communities that can sustain these projects after the grant period.

In 2012, CGP will continue to focus on projects that seek to improve and expand community awareness about, and referrals to health facilities and that focus on reduction of barriers that prevent communities from accessing health care and living healthy lives through education, improved food security, economic empowerment and information. CGP will enhance linkages with relevant host government departments from national to community level and other players in the area of care and support in order to identify the best organizations. This program has not and will not use PEPFAR funds for vehicle purchase. Target populations, geographic coverage, and M&E plans are included in budget code narratives. This activity supports GHI/LLC.

The PEPFAR Community Grants Program will award one-year grants to community-level groups designed to provide a minimum package for home and community based care at the grassroots, in line with NASCOP guidelines. Awarded projects must be designed to promote care and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS to include men, women, adolescents, children and MARPS; and those who provide care and support to PLHIV. The services will include community-level nursing and palliative care with an emphasis on treatment literacy and sustainability; family care and support (including psychosocial support, access to reproductive health services, and initiatives to strengthen food security and/or proper nutrition); trainings for CHWs and peer educators; and establishing proper linkages and referrals to ensure clients access additional services as necessary. The program will fund projects in all provinces in line with PEPFARs country ownership strategy. Funded projects must demonstrate strong community involvement and commitment and also demonstrate prior experience implementing and sustaining community-run activities that benefit people living with HIV and/or promote HIV prevention programming. The project activities should be geared towards strengthening the referral system from community to health facility and back again, outreaches for treatment literacy and HIV prevention. The projects must also show evidence of sustainability plans through the initiation of viable IGAs that will support their activities beyond the one-year PCGP funding, provide food security and basic nutritional support to their beneficiaries and build the household economic base. Groups that provide training for community health workers and peer educators will be expected to work with the relevant health departments at the community level DASCOs/DMOH/CACC. The trainings should emphasize on key interventions including PWP, treatment literacy, elimination of mother to child transmission, adherence to ART, stigma reduction skills, disclosure and behavior change communication, palliative care, defaulter tracing and basic nutrition. These trainings should ensure that clients and care givers understand the treatment plans and the care that is expected at home and when to return to the health facility for follow up. Funded projects will also be expected to have linkages with other host government departments Agriculture/Livestock/Fisheries, as well as micro-enterprises and other relevant experts in order to receive technical support for the IGAs. The program will support data collection and reporting using standard tools as per NASCOP/ NACC guidelines. Funded projects should describe a Monitoring and Evaluation plan based on the NACC that includes definable, measurable objectives that contribute to HIV care and/or support using set indicators.

PEPFAR Community Grants Program awards one-year grants to eligible local organizations including community-based organizations (CBOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), and registered self-help groups providing support to AIDS orphans and vulnerable children under the HKID program area. These grants are designed to provide one-time assistance to communities with small-scale projects that put into place family strengthening strategies to give care and/or economic support to children affected by AIDS at the grassroots level. These grants may include support for developing microcredit enterprises for caregivers or older youth, school fees program, and youth-friendly centers that offer a safe place to learn about HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment, encourage healthy parent-child relationships, among others. The program funds eligible projects working with the local District Social Development Officers in all provinces in line with PEPFARs country ownership strategy. In FY 2012, we will support approximately 2,500 OVC below 18 to include out-of-school youth, and 950 OVC care givers. Funded groups will be expected to provide support to OVC in education, age-appropriate health care and support, psychosocial support, child protection/rights issues and boost the household economic and food security. Funded projects must demonstrate strong community and family involvement and commitment and also demonstrate prior experience implementing and sustaining community-run activities that benefit OVC and/or promote HIV prevention programming. The project activities should be geared towards broadening support for basic health care and support in both the palliative care and orphans and vulnerable children program areas.

The projects must also show evidence of sustainability plans through the initiation of viable IGAs that will support their activities beyond the one-year PCGP funding, provide food security and basic nutritional support to their beneficiaries and build the OVC household economic base. Groups will be expected to work with the relevant host government departments at the community level DASCOs/DMOH/CACC/Childrens Officers. Funded projects will also be expected to have linkages with other host government departments Agriculture/Livestock/Fisheries, as well as micro-enterprises and other relevant experts in order to receive technical support for the IGAs.

One of PCGPs successes is that all the funded groups have initiated an IGA and/or used appropriate technology for the benefit of OVC. The major challenge experienced is lack of consistent and highly qualified technical assistance from host government departments because some of the government departments at the community level are not very reliable. PCGP is encouraging groups to have linkages with other stakeholders from private sectors so as to benefit from other experts beside the government.

The program will support data collection and reporting using standard tools as per NACC guidelines. Funded projects should describe a Monitoring and Evaluation plan based on the NACC that includes definable, measurable objectives that contribute to HIV care and/or support using set indicators.