Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2047
This funding opportunity is a CDC cooperative agreement under PEPFAR focused on strengthening Malawi's health system by improving health workforce planning, advanced clinical training, laboratory quality assurance, and national pharmacovigilance. The opportunity (CDC RFA GH20-2047; CFDA 93.067) was posted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Global Health, with an original application due date of April 24, 2020 (11:59 p.m. ET). CDC expected to make one award. Although the posted Year 1 award ceiling is listed as "0 (none)," the notice indicates CDC anticipated approximately $1,000,000 in total Year 1 funding, contingent on the availability of funds, which suggests the "ceiling" entry reflects a posting convention rather than an intent to fund at zero.
The core concept of the award is to leverage the University of Malawi College of Medicine (COM), described as the country's sole medical school and a leading public health institution, as a strategic implementing partner for the Ministry of Health (MOH). Rather than creating parallel systems, the project is designed to build national capacity that is anchored in Malawian institutions and can be sustained locally. Because the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, recipients should expect substantial involvement from CDC in planning, oversight, and technical collaboration, with CDC and the awardee jointly shaping implementation details and performance expectations over the project period.
A major pillar of the work is national human resources for health (HRH) quantification and planning. The award calls for Malawi to quantify HRH needs using the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) methodology, or another appropriate method, to produce evidence-based staffing requirements grounded in service workload and facility realities. In practice, this involves collecting workload data, defining activity standards, calculating staffing gaps, and using the results to guide staffing decisions across cadres and levels of care. The intent is not only to run a one-time assessment, but to create a repeatable approach that can be refreshed over time as service demand and national priorities change.
Building on the HRH quantification, the opportunity emphasizes development of a long-term strategic vision for HRH forecasting, deployment, and development. This is about moving from reactive staffing fixes to a forward-looking national plan that anticipates training output needs, tracks attrition and deployment patterns, and aligns health worker distribution with population and service needs. Forecasting and deployment elements typically cover how workers will be allocated geographically and by facility type, how recruitment and retention may be improved, and how the system will respond to evolving program demands, including those driven by HIV service delivery.
Another central component is advanced training and quality improvement for the clinical workforce, specifically through increasing the production and quality of COM graduates who are competent to deliver advanced, integrated HIV care and treatment services. The motivation is the chronic shortage of highly skilled health workers in Malawi, which directly affects the capacity to sustain and improve HIV treatment outcomes. The award envisions COM strengthening its training pipeline so more graduates are produced and so their competencies match real service needs, particularly in complex HIV management and integration with broader clinical care. This can include strengthening curricula, clinical rotations, mentorship models, supervision structures, and practical skills development that translate into better readiness for high-burden clinical environments.
The laboratory systems component focuses on operationalizing a local laboratory external quality assurance (EQA) system. The notice explicitly highlights "domesticating" EQA functions by shifting components that are currently sourced outside Malawi to be managed locally, using COM's unique position to take on these roles. The practical goal is to improve reliability and sustainability of laboratory quality assurance by reducing dependence on external providers, shortening feedback loops, and strengthening national ownership of quality systems that underpin accurate diagnosis and monitoring, including for HIV-related testing. A functioning in-country EQA approach can support consistent quality across a network of laboratories and can be essential for maintaining confidence in test results used for patient care and public health decision-making.
Finally, the opportunity includes support for Malawi's newly established national pharmacovigilance center housed within the COM pharmacy department, in collaboration with the Malawi Pharmacy Medicines and Poisons Board. This element is aimed at strengthening systems for monitoring medicine safety, detecting and managing adverse drug reactions, and improving the national capacity to evaluate product safety signals and communicate risks. In the context of HIV programs, pharmacovigilance is particularly important given lifelong antiretroviral therapy, possible regimen changes, drug-drug interactions, and the need to maintain public trust in treatment.
Overall, the opportunity is a systems-strengthening package designed to reinforce Malawi's ability to plan and manage its health workforce, produce more highly capable clinicians for integrated HIV services, ensure laboratory quality through a domesticated EQA platform, and institutionalize medication safety monitoring through a national pharmacovigilance center. The design places COM at the center of implementation to create durable capacity inside Malawi's own public institutions while supporting MOH priorities under PEPFAR.Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2047
- The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Human Resources for Health (HRH) Strategic Support, Advanced Health Care Worker Training, and Operationalization of a Local Laboratory External Quality Assurance System in Malawi under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEP" 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 Feb 24, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 24, 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).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a CDC cooperative agreement under PEPFAR focused on strengthening Malawi's health system. The work centers on improving health workforce planning, advanced clinical training, laboratory quality assurance, and national pharmacovigilance, with implementation anchored in Malawian institutions.
Which agency is offering the award?
The opportunity was posted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health.
What are the opportunity identifiers (RFA and CFDA)?
The opportunity is CDC RFA GH20-2047 and CFDA 93.067.
When was the application due?
The original application due date was April 24, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
How many awards did CDC expect to make?
CDC expected to make one award.
How much funding was expected for Year 1?
Although the posted Year 1 award ceiling is listed as "0 (none)," the notice indicates CDC anticipated approximately $1,000,000 in total Year 1 funding, contingent on the availability of funds.
Why does the posting show a Year 1 ceiling of "0 (none)" if funding was anticipated?
Based on the notice language, the "0 (none)" ceiling appears to reflect a posting convention rather than an intent to fund at zero, since CDC also stated it anticipated about $1,000,000 in Year 1 funding (subject to funds availability).
What does it mean that this is a cooperative agreement?
A cooperative agreement indicates substantial involvement from CDC in planning, oversight, and technical collaboration. The awardee should expect CDC and the recipient to jointly shape implementation details and performance expectations over the project period.
What is the overall purpose of the project?
The project is designed as a systems-strengthening package to reinforce Malawi's capacity to plan and manage its health workforce, produce highly capable clinicians for integrated HIV services, ensure laboratory quality through an in-country EQA platform, and institutionalize medication safety monitoring through a national pharmacovigilance center.
Which country and health system is the focus?
The work is focused on strengthening Malawi's health system.
How does PEPFAR relate to this award?
The cooperative agreement is described as being under PEPFAR, with specific emphasis on strengthening systems that support HIV service delivery, including advanced integrated HIV care, laboratory quality, and pharmacovigilance relevant to antiretroviral therapy.
What role does the University of Malawi College of Medicine (COM) play?
COM is positioned as a strategic implementing partner for the Ministry of Health (MOH). The concept is to leverage COM, described as Malawi's sole medical school and a leading public health institution, to build national capacity anchored in Malawian institutions rather than creating parallel systems.
What role does Malawi's Ministry of Health (MOH) play in the concept?
The project is designed to support MOH priorities, with COM serving as an implementing partner and the work aligned to national systems rather than standalone structures.
Is the project intended to build parallel systems outside existing institutions?
No. The described intent is to avoid parallel systems and instead build sustainable national capacity anchored in Malawian institutions, with COM central to implementation.
What is meant by "health workforce planning" in this opportunity?
The opportunity emphasizes national human resources for health (HRH) quantification and planning, including producing evidence-based staffing requirements grounded in workload and facility realities and using results to guide staffing decisions across cadres and levels of care.
What methodology is highlighted for HRH quantification?
The Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) methodology is specifically referenced, with flexibility to use another appropriate method.
What does HRH quantification using WISN involve in practice?
As described, it involves collecting workload data, defining activity standards, calculating staffing gaps, and using the findings to guide staffing decisions across cadres and levels of care.
Is HRH quantification described as a one-time assessment?
No. The intent is to create a repeatable approach that can be refreshed over time as service demand and national priorities change.
What is meant by a long-term strategic vision for HRH?
The award emphasizes moving from reactive staffing fixes to a forward-looking national plan that anticipates training output needs, tracks attrition and deployment patterns, and aligns health worker distribution with population and service needs.
What topics are included under HRH forecasting and deployment?
The description notes elements such as allocation of workers geographically and by facility type, approaches to recruitment and retention, and responding to evolving program demands, including those driven by HIV service delivery.
What is the advanced clinical training component trying to achieve?
It aims to increase the production and quality of COM graduates who are competent to deliver advanced, integrated HIV care and treatment services, addressing Malawi's shortage of highly skilled health workers.
Why is advanced clinical training emphasized?
The notice links the emphasis to a chronic shortage of highly skilled health workers in Malawi, which affects the ability to sustain and improve HIV treatment outcomes.
What kinds of training improvements are contemplated for COM?
The description mentions strengthening curricula, clinical rotations, mentorship models, supervision structures, and practical skills development so graduates are better prepared for complex HIV management and integration with broader clinical care.
What is the laboratory systems component focused on?
It focuses on operationalizing a local laboratory external quality assurance (EQA) system, specifically highlighting "domesticating" EQA functions by shifting components currently sourced outside Malawi to be managed locally.
What does "domesticating" laboratory EQA mean in this context?
It means moving EQA functions that are currently obtained from outside Malawi to an in-country, locally managed approach, leveraging COM to take on these roles.
What is the goal of creating an in-country EQA approach?
The practical goal is to improve reliability and sustainability of laboratory quality assurance by reducing dependence on external providers, shortening feedback loops, and strengthening national ownership of quality systems that support accurate diagnosis and monitoring, including HIV-related testing.
How does laboratory EQA support HIV programs?
The opportunity notes that strong quality systems underpin accurate diagnosis and monitoring, including for HIV-related testing, and help maintain confidence in test results used for patient care and public health decision-making.
What is the pharmacovigilance component?
The opportunity includes support for Malawi's newly established national pharmacovigilance center housed within the COM pharmacy department, in collaboration with the Malawi Pharmacy Medicines and Poisons Board.
What is the goal of strengthening pharmacovigilance?
It aims to strengthen systems for monitoring medicine safety, detecting and managing adverse drug reactions, and improving national capacity to evaluate product safety signals and communicate risks.
Why is pharmacovigilance particularly relevant to HIV treatment programs?
The description highlights the importance of pharmacovigilance in the context of lifelong antiretroviral therapy, possible regimen changes, drug-drug interactions, and the need to maintain public trust in treatment.
Which institutions are specifically mentioned as partners for pharmacovigilance work?
The national pharmacovigilance center is described as being housed within the COM pharmacy department and working in collaboration with the Malawi Pharmacy Medicines and Poisons Board.
What are the main pillars of the opportunity?
The main pillars described are: HRH quantification and planning (including WISN), long-term HRH forecasting and deployment strategy, advanced clinical training to improve graduate output and competency for integrated HIV care, domesticated laboratory EQA, and strengthening national pharmacovigilance.
What is the sustainability approach described in the notice?
Sustainability is framed around building national capacity anchored in Malawian institutions (especially COM) and creating systems and methods (like repeatable HRH quantification and locally managed EQA) that can be maintained and refreshed over time.
What should an awardee expect in terms of implementation management?
Because the mechanism is a cooperative agreement, the awardee should expect substantial CDC involvement in planning, oversight, and technical collaboration, with implementation details and performance expectations jointly shaped during the project period.
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