Call for EOIs: Strengthen Adolescent Health and HIV Support (Ghana)

Deadline: 16-Sep-2026

UNICEF Ghana is seeking a qualified civil society organization (CSO) or non-governmental organization (NGO) to implement a community-based intervention supporting adolescent health, HIV care retention, and follow-up of HIV-exposed infants in Ghana. The initiative, implemented in partnership with the National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) and the Ghana Health Service, aims to strengthen the connection between community-based support and facility-based HIV services. The intervention will focus on improving referral systems, follow-up, retention in care, safeguarding, and support for adolescents, young people, pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents, young mothers living with HIV, and HIV-exposed infants. What Is the UNICEF Ghana Adolescent Health and HIV Intervention? The initiative is designed to establish a structured community-based adolescent health and HIV support model in selected priority districts of Ghana. It will complement existing facility-based health services by strengthening community-level mechanisms that help adolescents and young people access services and remain connected to care.

The intervention focuses on:

- Adolescent health. - HIV prevention and care. - Retention in HIV treatment and care. - Psychosocial support. - Referral and follow-up systems. - Support for pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents. - Support for young mothers living with HIV. - Follow-up of HIV-exposed infants. - Early infant diagnosis (EID). - Safeguarding. - Community-level knowledge sharing. Why Is the Intervention Needed? Adolescents and young people in Ghana can face significant barriers when accessing HIV prevention, treatment, care, and psychosocial support. These challenges can be particularly important for: - Pregnant adolescents. - Breastfeeding adolescents. - Young mothers living with HIV. - Adolescents and young people living with HIV. At the same time, HIV-exposed infants require timely testing and consistent follow-up to ensure that they progress through the early infant diagnosis cascade. The initiative aims to address these gaps by strengthening community-based support alongside existing health facility services. Who Is UNICEF Ghana Seeking as a Partner? UNICEF Ghana is seeking a qualified CSO or NGO with the capacity to implement a structured community-based intervention. The implementing organization should be capable of working with relevant health stakeholders and supporting adolescents, young people, families, and HIV-exposed infants at the community level. The intervention will be implemented in collaboration with: - UNICEF Ghana. - National AIDS Control Programme. - Ghana Health Service. - Community-level stakeholders. - Relevant health and HIV service providers. What Are the Main Objectives? The intervention aims to strengthen community-based systems supporting adolescent health and HIV care.

Key objectives include:

- Establishing a functioning community-based adolescent health and HIV support model. - Improving linkage to HIV services. - Strengthening retention in care. - Supporting pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents. - Supporting young mothers living with HIV. - Improving follow-up of HIV-exposed infants. - Strengthening early infant diagnosis follow-up. - Improving referral and feedback systems. - Supporting safeguarding. - Documenting implementation experiences. - Generating practical lessons for UNICEF and partners. Supporting Adolescents and Young People Living With HIV A central component of the initiative is improving linkage and retention in HIV care for adolescents and young people living with HIV. Community-based support can help identify barriers that may prevent young people from accessing or remaining connected to health services. The intervention should strengthen mechanisms for: - Referral to appropriate services. - Follow-up after referral. - Communication between community and facility levels. - Identification of barriers to care. - Ongoing support for young people. - Documentation of referrals and outcomes. Supporting Pregnant and Breastfeeding Adolescents Pregnant and breastfeeding adolescents and young mothers living with HIV are a priority population within the intervention. The community-based model will provide follow-up and support that complements facility-based services.

Potential areas of support include:

- Linkage to appropriate HIV services. - Follow-up after referrals. - Retention in care. - Psychosocial support. - Connection with community resources. - Safeguarding and protection. - Follow-up through relevant maternal and child health services. HIV-Exposed Infant Follow-Up Another important component is the follow-up of HIV-exposed infants. Infants exposed to HIV require timely testing and follow-up through the early infant diagnosis pathway. The intervention aims to strengthen tracking through important EID milestones, including: - Identification of HIV-exposed infants. - Referral for early infant diagnosis testing. - Follow-up to ensure testing occurs. - Tracking of test results. - Prompt return of results. - Continued follow-up. - Documentation of progress through the EID cascade. What Is Early Infant Diagnosis? Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) refers to HIV testing of infants who have been exposed to HIV to determine their HIV status as early as possible. Timely testing and return of results are important components of effective follow-up. The community-based intervention will help strengthen the systems needed to ensure that HIV-exposed infants are not lost during the EID process. Strengthening Referral Systems Effective referral systems are central to the proposed intervention. The implementing partner will support mechanisms that connect community-based activities with health facilities.

A strong referral system should allow:

- Adolescents to be connected to appropriate services. - Pregnant and breastfeeding young mothers to receive follow-up. - HIV-exposed infants to access EID testing. - Referral outcomes to be do