Unis pour la santé, phase 3 : Contribuer à l’amélioration de la santé et du bien-être de la population, y compris les personnes déplacées internes de la République démocratique du Congo, dans la perspective de progresser vers la Couverture Sanitaire Universelle nationale.

Grant Purpose and Target

Core Objective

The grant's core mission is to improve the health and well-being of the population in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and reduce mortality, especially among mothers, children, and the most vulnerable, including refugees and internally displaced persons. The program aims to advance the country towards Universal Health Coverage, with a particular focus on the provinces covered by the 'Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor'.

Funding Organization

European Commission (via EuropeAid/DG INTPA)

Target Recipients

This call is open to non-profit legal entities. Eligible organizations include:
* Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
* Public sector operators and Public bodies
* Local authorities
* International (intergovernmental) organizations
* Economic operators (provided they are non-profit)

Sector Focus

SECTOR-SPECIFIC: This grant is strictly focused on the Healthcare and Social Protection sectors.

Geographic Scope

The project must be implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC). Actions should indicatively focus on high-potential economic zones within the provinces of the 'Couloir vert Kivu-Kinshasa' (Bas-Uélé, Equateur, Ituri, Kinshasa, Mai-Ndombe, Mongala, Nord-Kivu, Sud Ubangi, and Tshopo).

Key Filtering Criteria

• Project Scale: Large-scale projects with a minimum requested grant of €7,000,000.
• Project Duration: 24 to 36 months.
• Experience: Applicants must have significant experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, having managed a similar health project with a budget at least equivalent to the proposal within the last five years.

Financial Structure

Funding Range

• Total available budget: €24,000,000
• Minimum grant amount: €7,000,000
• Maximum grant amount: €24,000,000

The funding body reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Co-financing

• The grant will cover a minimum of 75% and a maximum of 90% of the total eligible costs of the action.
• The remaining balance must be financed from sources other than the European Union budget or the European Development Fund.

Eligible Costs

• Direct Costs: Costs must be real, incurred during the project duration, and necessary for its implementation. This includes:
• Personnel costs (salaries, social security charges).
• Travel and subsistence costs.
• Purchase or rental of equipment and supplies.
• Costs of consumables.
• Costs of service contracts.
• Costs deriving directly from the contract requirements (e.g., dissemination, evaluation, audits, translation).
• Taxes, including VAT, if they are not recoverable by the beneficiary.
• Contingency Reserve: A reserve for unforeseen expenses of up to 5% of direct eligible costs may be included, but its use requires prior written authorization.
• Indirect Costs: A flat rate of up to 7% of the total direct eligible costs is permissible to cover administrative overhead.

Ineligible Costs

• Debts and provisions for losses or debt.
• Interest owed.
• Costs already financed by another EU action.
• Purchases of land or buildings (with some exceptions).
• Currency exchange losses.
• Credits to third parties.
• Contributions in-kind are not considered eligible costs.

Eligibility Requirements

Formal Criteria

• Legal Status: The lead applicant must be a legal person and have non-profit status.
• Establishment: Must be established in a Member State of the European Union or another eligible country as per EU regulations. A full list of non-EU eligible countries is not provided in the documents.
• Authorization: Must be an experienced public health operator authorized to operate in the DRC.
• PADOR Registration: Lead applicants, co-applicants, and affiliated entities must be registered in the PADOR system, and the PIC must be registered in the EU's participant register.

Organizational Status

• Experience: The lead applicant must have implemented a contract of a similar nature and budget (at least equivalent to the proposal) in Sub-Saharan Africa within the last five years.
• Capacity: Must demonstrate proven management and operational capacity, including a structured contingency plan to respond to crises.
• Consortium Rules:
• The lead applicant can apply individually or with co-applicants. A consortium is allowed but not required.
• A lead applicant cannot be a co-applicant or affiliated entity in another application for the same lot.
• A co-applicant/affiliated entity can only participate in one application per lot.

Technical Expertise

• Sector Expertise: Must have proven expertise in the relevant intervention sectors, primarily public health.
• Management: Must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action.

Exclusion Criteria

• Ineligible Actions:
• Actions consisting solely or mainly of financing individual participation in workshops, seminars, etc.
• Actions consisting solely or mainly of financing individual scholarships.
• Actions that could lead to human rights violations or have negative environmental/climate impacts.
• Financial Support to Third Parties: This is not permitted. Proposals cannot include financial support to third parties (cascading grants).
• Standard EU Exclusion: Applicants must not be in any of the situations of exclusion listed in the EU's Practical Guide (e.g., bankruptcy, grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption).

Application Practical Information

Deadlines & Timeline

• Information Session: 19/08/2025 at 10:00 (Kinshasa time), online.
• Deadline for Clarification Questions: 06/10/2025 at 18:00 (Brussels time).
• Final Clarifications Published: By 16/10/2025.
• Submission Deadline: 27/10/2025 at 18:00 (Brussels time). Note: The source metadata indicates 17:00 UTC, which is consistent.
• Notification of Evaluation (Steps 1 & 2): 27/02/2026.
• Notification of Award Decision (Step 3): 15/05/2026.
• Contract Signature: 30/06/2026.

Application Process

• Platform: Applications must be submitted online via PROSPECT (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prospect).
• Language: Applications must be in French.
• Procedure: This is an 'open call' with a two-step evaluation. Applicants must submit all documents at once, including the Concept Note (Annex A.1) and the Full Application (Annex A.2). The evaluation will first be conducted on the Concept Notes. Only for pre-selected applicants will the Full Application then be evaluated.
• Registration: All applicants (lead, co-applicants, affiliates) must be registered in the PADOR system before submission.

Required Documents

• Full Application Form (Annexe A.2)
• Concept Note Form (Annexe A.1)
• Budget (Annexe B)
• Logical Framework (Annexe C)
• Legal Entity Form (Annexe D)
• Financial Identification Form
• Declaration of Honour (Annexe H)
• For verification (post-provisional selection): Statutes, recent accounts, external audit reports.

Support Offered

The program offers financial support in the form of a grant.

Post-Award Obligations

• Implementation: Projects must be implemented over a period of 24 to 36 months.
• Reporting: Beneficiaries are required to submit regular narrative and financial reports. A final report is due within three months of the project's end.
• Audits and Verification: An expenditure verification report is required for grants over €100,000. The EU reserves the right to conduct audits and evaluations during and after the project.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications are evaluated in a two-stage process, although all documents (concept note and full application) are submitted simultaneously.

STAGE 1: Concept Note Evaluation

Only the concept notes are evaluated initially. A minimum score of 30 out of 50 is required to proceed to the next stage. The relevance of the action is heavily weighted.

Note: A score is multiplied by 2 for its importance.

STAGE 2: Full Proposal Evaluation

For pre-selected applicants, the full proposal is then evaluated out of 100 points. A total score of less than 12 for Section 1, or a score of 1 in any subsection of Section 1, will lead to rejection.

Note: A score is multiplied by 2 for its importance.

STAGE 3: Eligibility Verification

For provisionally selected applications, a final verification of eligibility is conducted based on supporting documents.

Compliance and Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

• Ethical Standards: Beneficiaries must adhere to a strict code of conduct, including prohibitions on physical violence, sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA-H), harassment, and intimidation. An auto-evaluation questionnaire on SEA-H (Annexe L) is part of the application.
• Data Protection: All personal data must be processed in accordance with EU and national data protection laws, including GDPR [Regulation (EU) 2018/1725].
• Financial and Legal: Applicants must comply with all national tax and social security laws. They must also ensure they do not make funds available to individuals or entities under EU restrictive measures.

IP Policy

• Ownership: The beneficiary(ies) retain ownership of the results, reports, and other documents related to the action.
• EU Rights: The European Commission is granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable license to use, modify, translate, publish, and communicate all materials produced for any purpose it sees fit.

Unique Aspects

• Strategic Alignment: Projects should align with the EU's 'Global Gateway' strategy in health, with a focus on innovative approaches like telemedicine, e-health records, digitalization, and supporting local production of medicines and technologies.
• Contingency Planning: A structured contingency plan to respond to crises is a required part of the applicant's demonstrated capacity.
• Efficiency and Sustainability: Particular attention will be given to actions that demonstrate efficiency and long-term sustainability.
• Synergies: Proposals should show synergy between different components and with other ongoing initiatives.
• Cross-cutting Themes: Proposals must address sexual and reproductive health and provide care for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).

Industry-Specific Rules

• Health Sector in DRC: Applicants must be authorized to operate in the DRC and demonstrate experience in its public health context.