Overview

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a pervasive human rights violation, disproportionately affecting women and girls. In Cameroon, over half of married women experience intimate partner violence, with significant rates of physical violence (34%) and sexual violence (13%). Harmful traditional practices like forced marriage and Female Genital Mutilation persist. Limited access to GBV services poses serious risks to survivors' well-being. Since January 2024, 77 cases of feminicides have been reported, mostly by intimate partners. The crises in North West and South West regions have exacerbated GBV risks and hampered service availability. Investing in local capacity is crucial for a sustainable GBV response.

UNFPA, with support from GIZ  under  BMZ and EU funding, developed a 4 year project entitled “Woman eh, wuna place dey!” to empower women and girls in the North-West and South-West regions and protect them from GBV. The project aims for safer communities and better access to local GBV prevention, response, and risk mitigation services.

The project focuses on strengthening Civil Society Organizations through innovation and co-creation. 

Rationale for the partnership 

The “Woman eh” project is based on Civil Society Organization Capacity strengthening, and will be implemented around innovation and cocreation for bigger impact. Under this EoI  UNFPA is looking to identify Women Led Organizations and Women Rights Organizations with outstanding innovative approaches to respond to and prevent GBV in the North West and South Regions. The proposed innovations should be on one of the four pillars of the project : (1) GBV data and information management, (2) GBV response, (3)  Capacity strengthening around GBV and (4) advocacy and community mobilisation. The partnership aligns with the UNFPA localization strategy and will be grounded in UNFPA values and policy guiding the grants award process.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible organizations must:

• Be legally registered in Cameroon or have formal partnerships with registered local structures.
• Have operational presence in the North-West (NW) and South-West (SW) regions with knowledge of local GBV dynamics
• Presence in rural and hard to reach areas is an asset
• Have at least 3 years of experience in GBV programming including prevention, response, case management, GBVIMS and women's empowerment.
• Have verifiable references from previous related interventions is an asset
• Be active members of the GBV AoR sub-cluster and report activities through the GBV 5W matrix and Activity Info is an asset
• Being a Women Led Organization or focused on Women rights.
• Possess at least 2 technical staffs with GBV response, prevention and data management skills
• Have the ability to securely collect, manage, and analyze data (e.g., via GBVIMS).
• Demonstrate capacity to coordinate with multi-sectoral stakeholders.
• Have transparent governance and financial management.
• Be able to mobilize resources for GBV projects.
• Commit to an inclusive and participatory approach involving beneficiaries.

The Selection Process

This Expression of Interest is open to all eligible organizations wishing to contribute to ending GBV in the NW and SW regions. Applications must be submitted online to the email address  consultantcmr@unfpa.org by 2nd April 2025 at 5 pm Cameroon time. Late submissions will not be considered. All applications must be in English.

A mixed steering committee will review applications based on the scoring criteria. Selected organizations will be contacted by email for next steps. Unsuccessful applicants will receive feedback.

All applications should be submitted using the template attached to this call