Funding

AWARE-RH is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the AWARE - Action for West Africa Region - health program launched by USAID/West Africa Program in October 2003.

The program was built on the successes of USAID-s Family Planning and AIDS Project implemented in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d-Ivoire, and Togo from 1995 to 2003. As part of the new regional health program, AWARE will support 15 ECOWAS member countries and Cameroon, Chad, and Mauritania.

The overall goal of the AWARE project is to increase adoption of sustainable reproductive health, STI/HIV/AIDS, and child survival policies and approaches in West Africa.

The five year program, AWARE-RH, seeks to achieve its goal by:

Improving and disseminating effective approaches to FP/RH, STI/HIV/AIDS and child survival;
Increasing regional stakeholder advocacy for policy change;
Increasing capacity of regional institutions and networks; and
Developing and disseminating effective health sector reform models.

USAID/WA awarded two separate five year contracts to implement AWARE: to FHI for the STI/HIV/AIDS components (AWARE-HIV/AIDS) and to EngenderHealth for the FP/RH, child survival, and infectious diseases component (AWARE-RH).

AWARE-RH is managed by EngenderHealth in partnership with Abt Associates Inc., the Academy for Educational Development (AED), and Management Sciences for Health (MSH). (For more information about our partners and principles of partnership, see our Partners page.)

Donor Collaboration and Leveraging Resources

By promoting donor collaboration and leveraging funding wherever possible, the AWARE-RH Project extends the impact of available resources. The project conducts activities with regional donor and technical institutions such as World Health Organization, UNFPA, UNICEF, and others, and coordinates with bilateral and core USAID projects to maximize results in the region. Strengthened regional institutions lead to increased and more effective support to national and regional health programs and initiatives, south-to-south exchange of experiences and capability and, ultimately, to better health for West African communities and families.

Photo credit: Carrie Svingen (top and bottom photos)