The CATALYST Activity promotes the Cairo Programme of Action, stressing the need to strengthen the links between population and economic and social development.

Awarded in September 2000, the CATALYST Activity brings together four US-based organizations and one Colombian organization as equal partners committed to this strategic objective:

Partnering Organizations

The multi-disciplinary staff and partners contribute expertise in a wide range of areas:

• Academy for Educational Development (AED): behavior change, rural outreach
• Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA): women's empowerment, community mobilization, FP/RH links to non-health programs
• Meridian Group International, Inc.: commercial sector partnerships, corporate social responsibility, commercial sector/NGO linkages
• Pathfinder International: family planning/reproductive health service delivery, adolescents, sustainability, coordination with other donors, male involvement, monitoring and evaluation
• PROFAMILIA/Colombia: South-to-South technical assistance

Focus

CATALYST reaches women, men, and young people who have unmet reproductive and STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and care needs. It works in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Near East, and Europe and Eurasia. The Activity focuses specifically on:

• Increasing access to and improving quality of FP/RH clinical and non-clinical programs.
• Increasing capacity for informed FP/RH decision-making among clients and communities.
• Increasing capacity of the public and private sectors to sustain quality FP/RH programs.
• Scaling-up and improving FP/RH service delivery through other agency/donor/foundation programs.

Approach

CATALYST works to expand FP/RH service availability and STI/HIV/AIDS prevention and care through both health and non-health channels and through innovative partnerships. Particular areas of expertise include:

• Behavior Change Communication
• Service Delivery and Quality Improvement
• Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs
• Empowerment of Women and Male Involvement
• Sustainability
• Private and Commercial Sector Partnerships
• Outreach Through Non-Clinical Channels
• South-to-South Collaboration
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Research

Consortium Assistance

CATALYST is designed to be flexible and responsive to USAID Mission programs. Assistance through CATALYST can be implemented as a stand-alone activity, in partnership with other CA and/or bilateral activities, or as a coordinating mechanism for multiple CA-assisted programs. In general, country-level programs will be implemented using field support funds, although core funds may be used in certain instances. CATALYST is interested in working closely with USAID Missions to identify innovative uses of core funds that can facilitate implementation and advance the state-of-the-art in FP/RH.

The Consortium’s cooperative agreement with USAID allows flexibility to establish field and/or regional offices that enable CATALYST to respond to USAID Missions’ and other partners’ needs for technical assistance and oversight of field activities. CATALYST can accept USAID Mission and Regional Bureau funds from any accounting including Population, Child Survival, HIV/AIDS and Infectious Diseases.