FORTALECIMIENTO DE LA MATRONERIA y PROFESIONES AFINES EN AMERICA LATINA Y EL CARIBE (2027 - 2029)

Call description

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) regional office seeks civil society and academic partners to strengthen midwifery and related professions across Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative aims to improve sexual and reproductive health services and reduce preventable maternal mortality, including by strengthening professions in countries where midwifery does not exist as a profession. The regional programme particularly identifies Afrodescendant and Indigenous women, persons with disabilities and people on the move. The supplied passages do not establish a definitive country list or separately identify the source of funds.

The invitation’s proposal summary specifies a programme from 01/01/2027 to 31/12/2029. The portal record separately lists a start date of February 1, 2027 and an end date of December 31, 2027; these periods need reconciliation before programme planning. The invitation specifies a proposed programme budget of USD $90,000 - $110,000 for 2027-2029. The portal separately states an indicative budget of 100000.00000 without identifying a currency in that field. Neither passage establishes a total lot allocation or explains whether the portal figure is a ceiling, an allocation or an indicative project amount.

Priorities and eligibility

The invitation is addressed to civil society organisations and academic entities, including universities, study centres, professional networks and non-governmental organisations. Its form asks whether the organisation is registered on the UN Partner Portal, but the supplied passage does not state that portal registration is a condition of eligibility.

Consortium and strategic-alliance proposals are permitted. The proposal must clearly identify the lead organisation that would sign the agreement with UNFPA and the co-implementing partners, and describe their roles and technical capacities.

The assessment criteria consider the organisation’s history of fraud, complaints or service-delivery problems and whether conflicts of interest with UNFPA or its personnel can be effectively mitigated. These are stated as assessment criteria, not as a separately dated screening or exclusion procedure.

Annex I includes a preliminary assessment for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. If the organisation has no direct contact with people receiving assistance, it stops that section; a self-assessment is required if contact begins later. If it has direct contact and a UN agency assessed its capacity in the last 5 years, it shares the rating and supporting documentation instead of completing the section. Otherwise it completes the specified self-assessment fields and provides support for fields marked yes.

A review panel assesses proposals competitively. The criteria include organisational governance and staffing, comparative experience and community access, regional relevance and proposal quality, partnerships, monitoring and environmental practices. For environmental assessment, the organisation should have policies or practices to reduce its activities’ impact; if it has no such policies, it must have no history of its activities causing negative environmental impact. Participation does not guarantee selection.

The expected results cover regulatory and policy frameworks aligned with international standards; strengthened academic and continuing education; respectful, midwifery-led sexual and reproductive health care; and regional evidence for advocacy and decision-making. The call includes indicators on technical assistance, training, clinical guidance and national data collection.

The portal lists Panama and Cocle as locations, whereas the invitation and the portal’s selection criterion describe a regional proposal for Latin America and the Caribbean. The evidence does not establish whether the listed location is an implementation requirement or how it relates to regional coverage. Ask UNFPA to confirm the geographic requirements and priority countries before selecting activities.

Funding and application requirements

Must applicants submit by email, through the UN Partner Portal, or through both channels? The invitation directs organisations to email their proposals with the specified subject line, while the portal directs users to visit it for information and to apply. The supplied passages do not resolve whether these are alternatives or complementary steps. Request written confirmation of the route and any applicant-specific conditions.

The invitation requires a digital copy of legal-status provisions, the organisation’s latest annual report, its latest audit report and Annex I. Annex I asks for organisational information and supporting documents, the proposed programme and budget, and 3 references. It also requires a separate Excel spreadsheet detailing activities and their associated budget.

Formal proposals must be in Spanish. The organisation or consortium must also demonstrate operational capacity to interact and collect information in English for key regional interventions. The supplied passages do not establish a translation exception for supporting documents.

Is the separately supplied UNFPA concept note template required in addition to Annex I, or can it be used instead? The portal lists a concept note template, while the invitation expressly requires Annex I. The generic template describes its use for calls and unsolicited proposals but does not resolve the requirement for this particular call. Confirm the required form and whether the digital supporting documents have prescribed file formats beyond the separate Excel spreadsheet.

The invitation gives an application deadline of 27 November 2026 and says late proposals will not be considered. The portal lists November 29, 2026. The supplied evidence does not establish which date governs. Seek written clarification and, pending confirmation, prepare for the earlier date.

Recommendations

A regional consortium may complement technical and geographic capacities, but naming partners alone will not demonstrate delivery capacity. The call positively considers complementary specialised alliances while also assessing credible experience, community access and monitoring systems. Substantiate each partner’s contribution and show how the lead will coordinate the proposed work and use monitoring data.

The regional reach criterion and the breadth of expected results make the choice of activities and partners consequential, particularly against the stated programme budget. Describe how the selected regional activities contribute to the call’s expected results, assign clear responsibilities and demonstrate the capacity to deliver them within the confirmed budget and period. The evidence does not establish that every listed activity must be implemented by every partner.