Fight Slavery and Trafficking-In-Persons (FS/TIP) Activity | 72038821RFA00003

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72038821RFA00003

The Fight Slavery and Trafficking-In-Persons (FS/TIP) Activity is a USAID/Bangladesh funding opportunity designed to reduce human trafficking and child marriage in Bangladesh over a five-year period (2021 to 2026). The activity targets both internal and cross-border trafficking and covers exploitation for both sex and labor. The overall aim is to lower vulnerability to trafficking in persons (TIP) and child marriage while strengthening fundamental freedoms and human rights. In practice, this means the program is meant to tackle the problem from multiple angles at once: improving how trafficking crimes are handled in the justice system, preventing exploitation through awareness and livelihood pathways, ensuring survivors can access consistent services, and strengthening coordination among the many institutions involved.

This opportunity was issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Mission in Bangladesh (USAID-Dhaka), under Funding Opportunity Number 72038821RFA00003. It is a discretionary opportunity and would be implemented through a cooperative agreement, which typically means USAID expects substantial involvement in technical direction and collaboration during implementation. The funding activity category is Law, Justice and Legal Services, with CFDA number 98.001. The opportunity anticipated a single award, with an award ceiling of up to USD 10,000,000, signaling a large, integrated national-level activity rather than several smaller grants. The notice was created on December 15, 2020, and originally closed on January 21, 2021. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification expected in the full eligibility section of the original announcement.

The FS/TIP activity is structured around four interrelated objectives that together form a comprehensive anti-trafficking approach. The first objective focuses on prosecution by increasing the responsiveness of criminal justice actors. This centers on improving the ability of institutions and professionals within the justice system to investigate, build, and prosecute trafficking cases effectively, with the goal of holding offenders accountable and strengthening deterrence. While the short description does not list specific interventions, the stated intent is clearly to boost institutional capacity and practical responsiveness, which can include stronger case handling, better coordination among agencies, and improved application of relevant laws and procedures.

The second objective is prevention, emphasizing community capacity to identify trafficking incidents and victims and take action, alongside skill and behavior development for youth and adults. This objective combines public awareness with practical risk-reduction measures. The community component suggests strengthening local knowledge about what trafficking looks like, how recruitment and coercion happen, and what steps can be taken to report or interrupt risky situations. The skills and behavior component highlights an economic and social prevention pathway, aiming to foster legitimate employment opportunities so that financial pressure, unsafe migration choices, and other vulnerabilities that traffickers exploit are reduced. In short, prevention is framed not only as messaging, but also as helping people access safer, more stable alternatives.

The third objective addresses protection by improving trafficking victims' access to standardized assistance. This reflects a survivor-centered approach intended to make services more consistent, reliable, and accessible. Standardized assistance implies clearer referral pathways and service quality expectations so survivors can receive appropriate support, which may include safety planning, shelter, medical care, psychosocial services, legal support, and reintegration assistance depending on needs and local systems. The description also highlights improving safety in society to protect trafficking survivors, aligning protection services with broader efforts to reduce stigma, retaliation risks, and re-exploitation.

The fourth objective focuses on partnership, aiming for coordinated and effective collaboration among stakeholders to counter human trafficking. Trafficking and child marriage intersect with law enforcement, courts, social services, local government, civil society, community leaders, and sometimes private sector actors, so the program emphasizes coordination to avoid fragmented responses. This objective is meant to strengthen how these actors share information, align strategies, and work together across prevention, protection, and prosecution. Taken together, the four objectives describe a single integrated program intended to reduce trafficking and child marriage through stronger justice outcomes, better prevention at the community and livelihood level, improved survivor support, and more unified action across institutions and organizations.

• The Agency for International Development, Bangladesh USAID-Dhaka in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fight Slavery and Trafficking-In-Persons (FS/TIP) Activity" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 21, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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