Call for letters of interest: Addressing neglected areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights in sub-Saharan Africa (ANeSA)

Scope

Addressing Neglected Areas of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in sub-Saharan Africa (ANeSA) is launching Stage 1 of a two-stage funding opportunity to support Cohort 2 of Implementation Research Teams. The initiative will fund implementation research focused on sustainable, evidence-informed and gender-transformative interventions that address neglected areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights for under-served populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Up to six grants of up to CAD 1.2 million each will be awarded, and up to 12 applicants will be invited to advance to the Full Proposal stage.  

Successful projects will address at least one of ANeSA’s five priority areas:  

• Improving access to family planning and contraceptive services  
• Expanding access to safe abortion care, where legally permitted, and post-abortion care (APAC)  
• Upholding SRHR rights and ensuring access to services for adolescents  
• Preventing sexual- and gender-based violence (SGBV) and improving services for people experiencing SGBV  
• Strengthening advocacy for SRHR  

For more information, please consult the Call for Letters of Interest.   

Eligibility

This call is open to Implementation Research Teams led by a sub-Saharan Africa-based researcher affiliated with an eligible institution in an eligible country. Please refer to the Call for Letters of Interest for the full team composition and eligibility requirements. 

More details

Learn more about ANeSA 

More questions? Please contact the ANeSA team at SRHR-SDSR@idrc.ca by August 09, 2026, to receive a response before the submission deadline. 

The informational webinars held on July 15 and 16, 2026 both reached maximum capacity. Due to the high level of interest in this call for proposals and since those sessions were presented mainly in English, a third and final session will be offered in French only on July 23, 2026. The link to register the informational session is available here.

No English interpretation will be provided.

Attendance to an informational webinar is not required to submit an application for this call.

Eligible countries

Principal Applicants must be affiliated with organizations based in one of the following eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso*, Burundi*, Cameroon*, Central African Republic*, Chad*, Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)*, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia*, Gabon*, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali*, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique*, Namibia, Niger*, Nigeria*, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Eswatini, South Sudan*, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda*, Zambia and Zimbabwe*.  

*Applications from some countries may be subject to an additional stage of internal approval within IDRC. 

KEY DATES

• Call for Letters of Interest Launch: June 29, 2026 
• Information webinars on July 15 and 16, 2026, primarily in English, with French subtitles
• Information webinar on July 23, 2026, in French only, with no English subtitles from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 am Eastern Time (GMT-4). You can register via this link  (available in French only). Sessions in English have already taken place.
• Deadline for Submission of Letter of Interest: August 23, 2026 
• Applicants Notified on the result of their submission: December 18, 2026 
• Proposal Development Workshop: February 9-11, 2027 
• Call for Full Proposal Launch: February 12, 2027 
• Deadline for Submission of Full Proposal: May 2, 2027 
• Applicants Notified of Funding Decisions: July 21, 2027