Optimizing HIV Clinical and Laboratory HIV Services at a National Referral Level Hospital in Support of the National Level HIV Program to Attain Epidemic Control in Zambia under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH20 2074

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2074

This funding opportunity is a CDC cooperative agreement under PEPFAR focused on strengthening HIV clinical and laboratory services at Zambia's national referral level hospital, with additional support to other provincial referral facilities. The overall intent is to improve the quality, consistency, and performance of facility- and hospital-based HIV services for both in-patients and out-patients, while also building stronger national, provincial, district, and site-level systems that help Zambia move toward HIV epidemic control. The work is designed to directly support the Ministry of Health (MOH) through hands-on service delivery improvements and technical assistance that can be scaled and standardized across the referral network.

The notice lists an approximate total funding amount of USD 12,000,000 for Year 1, dependent on available funds, and anticipates making a single award. Although the listing notes an "Award Ceiling for Year 1" of 0, it also states the expected Year 1 funding level, which indicates the ceiling value shown is not a practical cap on the planned award amount in this announcement. The mechanism is a cooperative agreement, meaning CDC will likely have substantial involvement in program direction, performance monitoring, and alignment with PEPFAR and national HIV priorities rather than simply issuing a grant with minimal federal engagement.

Programmatically, the core objective is to optimize comprehensive HIV service delivery at high-volume, high-acuity referral settings. That includes improving clinical services and laboratory capacity so patients receive timely diagnosis, effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), appropriate monitoring, and strong clinical follow-up. The scope explicitly spans HIV prevention, HIV testing services, HIV treatment, clinical support functions, laboratory services, and broader monitoring activities. The target groups include the general population as well as priority and key populations, reflecting a requirement to ensure referral hospitals can provide high-quality, equitable care to patients with different risk profiles and care needs.

A major component of the award is providing technical expertise to Zambia's national ART program. This is framed as support to develop, monitor, and achieve national targets, and to provide strategic guidance and standard-setting that keeps the national program aligned with the most current evidence. In practice, this type of role typically involves helping MOH and implementing partners translate global, regional, and locally generated data into updated clinical and laboratory guidelines, standard operating procedures, quality improvement approaches, and performance management systems. It also implies supporting timely course-corrections when data show gaps in outcomes such as testing yield, linkage to care, retention, viral load coverage, viral suppression, or turnaround times for key lab tests.

The announcement also highlights a specific service obligation related to gender-based violence (GBV), including child sexual abuse (CSA). This indicates funded activities are expected to ensure that referral facilities can appropriately identify and manage survivors, provide or link to post-violence clinical services, and integrate those services with HIV-related care where relevant (for example, through HIV testing, post-exposure prophylaxis pathways where applicable, clinical management, counseling support, and appropriate referrals). Including GBV/CSA in the scope signals an emphasis on comprehensive patient-centered services that address vulnerabilities and clinical risks that intersect with HIV.

Administratively, the opportunity is identified as CDC RFA GH20-2074, within CFDA 93.067, offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health. It was posted March 2, 2020, with an original closing date of May 1, 2020, and applications were required to be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the notice. Overall, the award is structured to strengthen referral-level clinical and laboratory performance while simultaneously reinforcing national program leadership, standards, and data-driven decision-making to accelerate progress toward epidemic control in Zambia.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Optimizing HIV Clinical and Laboratory HIV Services at a National Referral Level Hospital in Support of the National Level HIV Program to Attain Epidemic Control in Zambia under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.067.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 02, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 01, 2020 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• 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).

Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2074

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