MA Combipacks Scale-Up

This MA Combipacks Catalytic Opportunity Fund (COF) is a flexible pool of funds to support catalytic activities that advance government-led introduction and scale-up of quality MA combipack in low and lower-middle income countries. The MA combipack COF is supported by RHSC Safe Abortion Supplies Workstream.

Catalytic opportunities eligible for funding are broadly defined as activities that enable increased efficiency and/or effectiveness of product introduction and scale up OR activities that are critical to achieve successful product introduction and scale up​.

Opportunities should demonstrate how they will lead to tangible, time-bound results for scale up, specifically how activities will lead to a sustainable increase in availability of quality abortion care products and services, including MA Combipack.

Additionally, COF proposals must be government-endorsed to illustrate alignment to country priorities, propose activities that work within the legal framework of the country, and should leverage and build sustainable processes, systems, and resources for scale-up.

Announcements & Submission Deadlines

We are pleased to share the upcoming MA Combipacks COF application deadline for Cycles 10 is Monday, September 15 at 5:00 PM WAT

Required Expression of Interest (EOI): All prospective applicants must submit a short Expression of Interest (EOI) form prior to the submission deadline. Applicants who do not submit an EOI on time will be ineligible to apply. The MA EOI for Cycle 10 is now CLOSED.

The COF Team will review EOIs and follow up with prospective applicants within one week of the EOI deadline (August 21 by 5:00 PM WAT) if we identify potential eligibility concerns. If you do not receive communication from the COF Team during this period, you may proceed with your application. The COF Team will follow up separately with an invitation to the COF Portal for submission.

Application Materials: All applicants must use the latest templates labeled "Version May 2025." Submissions using outdated materials will not be considered. Please access the current application materials below.

Eligibility and Requirements

  • Funds must be granted to NGOs, implementing partners, and social marketing organizations; however governments can be implementers.

  • Activities should leverage sustainable processes, systems, and resources such as government or private sector where possible

  • Project must be implemented in a low income or lower middle income country as defined by the World Bank​ 

  • Must be supported by the Ministry of Health (MoH) 

  • Work in public sector, private sector or combination of the two are eligible  

  • Must include an endorsement letter from the national Ministry of Health (MOH) from the relevant stakeholder who is guiding MA combipack introduction and implementation. 

  • Demonstrate there is sufficient MA combipack stock available in the country and/or in the process of arriving in the country to support achieve the intended outcomes of the proposed project. If any of your project activities rely on commodities, you must describe the supply security situation in your proposal. 

  • Demonstrate a clear funding need and that alternative funding sources are not available to support the proposed work. 

  • Applicants implemented in part, or in full, by local partners are welcome

For more details on the MA Combipacks COF and Scoring Rubrics that we use to assess applications, please see here: MA Combipacks COF Overview

Submission Information

Applications are reviewed on competitive application cycle. Prospective applicants are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), which will undergo a screening process. Applicants deemed eligible will be invited to submit a full application through the COF Portal, our grant management system, by the deadline published on this website. In order to apply for MA Combipacks COF funds, applicants should submit the following:

  1. Application Narrative in Word document format (EN, FR)

  2. Project Budget for the proposed activities (EN, FR)

  3. Letter of recommendation, or defined informal equivalent, from the National Ministry of Health

    The intent behind this requirement is to ensure alignment of proposed projects to government plans and priorities. As you seek MOH endorsement, please engage in meaningful national coordination with key government stakeholders and partners in-country to align on needs and project approaches prior to submission to avoid misalignment with government priorities and duplication of efforts.

Resources

COF Project Directory

Interested in the projects and organizations supported by the COF? Click on the COF Project Directory for a list of past and current COF award recipients. This register includes project descriptions and points of contact. Please refer to this to ensure no duplication with existing or past awards, prompt local coordination with other partners, and build off of past work as relevant.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A: Eligible applicants (e.g., NGO, non-profit, social marketing organization, MOH) vary by COF funding stream. NGOs, non-profit, SMOs, and private sector companies are eligible for the COF. Suppliers are not eligible for the COF.

    Applicants implemented in part, or in full, by local partners are welcome.

  • A: Applicants must be able to provide audited financial statements and satisfactorily complete a financial due diligence assessment.

  • A: The maximum funding amount was decided based on our experience managing the first COF funding stream of DMPA-SC Scale-up where we found it was sufficient for all grants given the short-term and catalytic focus.

  • A: The requirement of a MOH letter should reflect the national/federal MOH for the most part with the intention of ensuring government-led, sustainable product introduction that is aligned to national priorities and plans. Depending on the country context, in some unique cases the COF will accept a subnational MOH endorsement letter for work proposed in that subnational geography for countries with a very large population and a decentralized health system (e.g. India, Nigeria, DRC). For all countries, if applicants are proposing national level work, you must have a national MOH letter to demonstrate alignment with central government priorities.

  • A: The COF only accepts one application per partner, per cycle, per country, per product. For example, a partner cannot submit two applications within the same product funding stream in the same focal country; only 1 application can be considered in a given cycle. A partner operating in multiple geographies may submit applications for different countries, or across different product funding streams.

  • A: Yes, we encourage applicants to apply in future grant cycles. If we have provided feedback on your proposal, we strongly encourage applicants to review the feedback and update their proposal before resubmitting in the next funding cycle.

  • A: CHAI serves as the strategic steward of funds and administrator of the COF. While CHAI disburses funds to sub-grantees, CHAI is not the donor. The COF operates as a pooled donor funding mechanism with multiple donors, meaning that different grants within the COF are funded by various donors. As of December 2024, the various COFs are supported by donors BMGF, FCDO, CIFF, and MSD for Mothers.

  • A: Yes, organizations are eligible to submit new applications to the COF even if another COF award is currently active.

    However, the COF is designed to fund time-bound, catalytic projects, so applications should consider the following: whether the proposed activities are timely and whether they address a specific need or critical gap. As always, continued MOH endorsement is essential. We recommend sharing any available preliminary results from the ongoing project to support a new application. The application should clarify whether the new project will build on previous work or introduce a new scope. We encourage organizations to put forth applications that clearly demonstrate the urgency and impact of their proposed activities. The COF's Scoring Rubric provides insights into how Reviewers evaluate applications.

  • A: There are typically multiple grants available per cycle.