Deadline: 23 March 2017
The US Department of State’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently seeking proposals from eligible entities for its program titled “Conducting Public Health Research in South Africa”.
The purpose of this project is to support the National Health Laboratory Service in their role as the only organization in South Africa with the ability to build capacity for emerging infectious disease detection and response through enhanced surveillance, research, and diagnostics.
Objectives
The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to further increase and expand the research collaboration between CDC and South Africa to meet the following goals in the areas of:
- Field and laboratory research on diseases of public health importance in South Africa with emphases on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including respiratory diseases, zoonotic/vector-borne diseases, encephalitis, as well as diarrheal/enteric diseases, including developing and expanding innovative surveillance systems, communication techniques and treatments;
- Evaluations of vaccines and other interventions to prevent and control emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases
- Assess and monitor antimicrobial resistance in key human and animal pathogens, including antibiotic/anti tuberculosis medication resistance patterns and mechanisms in hospital-acquired infections;
- Developing and/or assessing the effectiveness of integrated disease surveillance programs for detecting, preventing and responding to key infectious disease syndromes and/or pathogens, chronic diseases, maternal and child health and injury;
- Strengthen health security including biosafety and biosecurity to prevent the spread of diseases across borders.
- Establish and/or maintain partnerships with regional/sub-regional ministries of health and agriculture, provincial and municipal health departments, academic institutions, vaccine manufacturers, or others to facilitate access and cooperation in meeting research study objectives.
Priorities
To address key research objectives, projects submitted in response to this funding announcement should focus on the following public health research priorities in the first year of the cooperative agreement:
- Research to address emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including respiratory diseases, zoonotic/vector-borne, diarrheal/enteric diseases, and hospital-associated infections, including expanding and strengthening South Africa’s Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NDSS), communication techniques, and treatments;
- Evaluations of vaccines, antimicrobials, and other interventions to prevent and control emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including respiratory diseases, diarrheal/enteric diseases, as well as neglected tropical diseases;
- Improve local, national, and regional capacity, to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious diseases, public health threats and emergencies through the implementation of strong surveillance systems, training and education of health scientists and health officials, strengthening of laboratory capacity, especially the development and evaluation of diagnostic tests, enhancing information sharing and communication and using results from surveillance systems and research to inform future public health decisions;
- Identify modifiable risk factors for priority infectious diseases including respiratory diseases, zoonotic/vector-borne diseases, diarrheal/enteric diseases, hospital-associated infections, as well as neglected tropical diseases;
- Assess and monitor antimicrobial resistance in key human and animal pathogens, including resistance to antivirals used to treat influenza and antibiotic resistance patterns and mechanisms in hospital-acquired infections;
- Developing and/or assessing the effectiveness of disease prevention programs for key infectious disease syndromes and/or pathogens; and
- Strengthen global health security including biosafety and biosecurity to prevent the spread of diseases across borders.
Award Information
Funding for the first budget period is up to $500,000. Funding for the entire project proposal is up to $2,500,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Foreign Organizations are eligible to apply.
- Foreign (non-US) organizations must follow policies described in the HHS Grants Policy Statement, and procedures for foreign organizations described throughout the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.
- Foreign components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
- For this announcement, applicants may include collaborators or consultants from foreign institutions. All applicable federal laws and policies apply.
- The South Africa National Health Laboratory Service is the only eligible applicant. The South Africa National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is the only organization in South Africa that possesses the requisite legal authority, expertise, infrastructure capacity, and who has the primary responsibility within the South African government to address public health issues. These combined attributes make them uniquely qualified as the only organization eligible in South Africa for carrying out broad, comprehensive, and long-term public health research program activities proposed for this cooperative agreement.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online via given website.
Eligible Countries: United States and South Africa
For more information, please visit Grants.gov.