Supporting the Safe, Adequate and Reliable Supply of Blood and Blood Products through the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service and its Support to Hospitals throughout Malawi, under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Health Ini | CDC RFA GH11 113405CONT16

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH11 113405CONT16

This grant opportunity is a continuation cooperative agreement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) focused on maintaining and strengthening Malawi's national blood system. The project title makes the main purpose clear: to support a safe, adequate, and reliable supply of blood and blood products through the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS), and to ensure those services effectively reach and support hospitals across Malawi. The work sits under the umbrella of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Health Initiative, which signals a strong connection to HIV-related health needs and broader health system strengthening, especially where safe transfusion services are critical for saving lives and preventing infections.

The opportunity is categorized as a continuation, meaning it is not open to new applicants competing for funding. Instead, it is intended only for organizations that were previously funded under the earlier solicitation referenced in the notice (CDC-RFA-GH11-1134). In practical terms, CDC is using this mechanism to extend or continue support for an existing program that has already been established, with the expectation that the current grantee will keep implementing agreed activities, meeting performance requirements, and sustaining progress rather than launching an entirely new initiative.

The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by CDC during implementation. Compared with a standard grant, a cooperative agreement generally includes closer technical collaboration, oversight, and joint planning between the recipient and CDC. For a national blood program, that kind of relationship often supports consistent quality standards, alignment with national policies, stronger monitoring systems, and ongoing improvement in areas like donor recruitment, blood collection, testing, processing, storage, distribution, and hospital transfusion practices.

The listing shows the activity category as health and provides the CFDA number 93.067, which is associated with CDC global health programs. The agency is CDC, and the opportunity number is CDC RFA GH11 113405CONT16, with an original closing date of 2015-12-06 and a creation date of 2015-10-06. The eligible applicants field is listed as "Others," but because this is specifically a continuation award limited to prior recipients under the earlier announcement, eligibility is functionally restricted regardless of how broad that field appears.

No award ceiling and no expected number of awards are specified in the excerpt provided (the award ceiling is shown as 0 and expected awards is blank). In many continuation notices, detailed budget ceilings and award counts are not emphasized in the same way they are for open competitions, because the funding levels are typically tied to prior-year awards, performance, and available appropriations. The core point is that CDC is continuing financial support for an ongoing MBTS-related program rather than seeking new implementers.

In terms of what the program is designed to accomplish, the emphasis on "safe, adequate and reliable" supply points to the full chain of transfusion safety and availability. "Safe" implies strong screening and testing to reduce transfusion-transmitted infections, quality systems, and proper handling to prevent contamination. "Adequate" points to having enough units collected and processed to meet clinical needs nationwide, which often requires sustained voluntary donor recruitment and retention strategies. "Reliable" suggests predictable distribution and consistent service delivery to hospitals, including inventory management, cold chain capacity, transport logistics, and coordination between MBTS and clinical sites. The explicit mention of MBTS support to hospitals indicates attention not only to centralized blood services, but also to hospital-level practices that affect patient safety and appropriate use of blood products.

Overall, this continuation opportunity represents CDC's ongoing investment, through PEPFAR and broader global health efforts, in ensuring Malawi's health system has dependable access to safe blood and blood products. It is structured to keep an existing, previously funded partner in place, continuing work with MBTS and hospitals to protect patients, support lifesaving clinical care, and reduce preventable risks associated with transfusion services.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Supporting the Safe, Adequate and Reliable Supply of Blood and Blood Products through the Malawi Blood Transfusion Service and its Support to Hospitals throughout Malawi, under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Health Ini" 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 2015-10-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-12-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for CDC RFA GH11 113405CONT16

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