UNITLIFE is pleased to announce that the first call for proposals opened today for a pilot grant in Niger. With its Secretariat established in February 2020 and its investment strategy approved in May 2020, the Fund is moving to the next chapter to invest in projects on the ground. UNITLIFE will provide funding for one project in Niger at the intersection of nutrition, nutrition-sensitive and resilient food systems, and the empowerment of women, with the primary goal of improving the nutritional status of children and mothers through improved diets. As part of UNITLIFE's strategy, UNITLIFE will select a project which also includes three cross-cutting priorities: innovation, sustainability and integration (or colocation) with interventions addressing other determinants of malnutrition to maximize impact.

The project is expected to start in September this year and last for 18 months, therefore a project which builds on an existing intervention will be prioritized. The grant amount available, contributed to UNITLIFE by the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, is US$ 500,000.

Organizations that meet all of the following criteria can apply for this grant:

• Be an International NGO or a United Nations entity
• Have an annual budget of at least US$ 1 million
• Have a physical presence and legal right to operate in Niger
• Have experience implementing chronic malnutrition prevention activities in Niger
• Be a member of at least one of the following coordination mechanisms in Niger: Nutrition Cluster / Groupe Technique Nutrition, relevant SUN Network, Comité Technique – Initiative 3N.

Interested organizations are invited to register on the online platform and submit a proposal at https://apply.uncdf.org/prog/unitlife/ by 22 July 2020.

More information on UNITLIFE’s investment strategy can be found here.