Grants for Strengthening National Health Information System to Generate Quality Health Data in South Sudan

Deadline: 28-Feb-22

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is seeking applications for Strengthening National Health Information System to Generate Quality Health Data for Informed Decision Making in South Sudan under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

This NOFO will build on previous work aimed at leveraging PEPFAR resources to strengthen the overall SI (routine program M&E, Health informatics and surveillance and surveys) in the country guided through data use agreement between MOH, CDC and Implementing Partners for use of data without personally identifiable information.

The purpose of this NOFO is to leverage PEPFAR resources to strengthen national HIS to produce and use quality health data with focus on HIV cascade monitoring for epidemic control. There is currently no overarching HIS strategy that promotes use of secure standard interoperable digital HIS to monitor commodities, track clients on chronic care and manage laboratory samples and results. This NOFO will enable the MOH to establish one nationally acceptable interoperable digital platform based on open-source systems and establish one monitoring system operating under MOH leadership.

This NOFO will build upon achievements of the previous projects and support the MOH on:

• Health system strengthening;
• HIS strengthening;
• Strengthening overall health M&E; and
• Supporting priority HIV/TB surveillance and surveys. To accomplish the goals of sustainability under this award, recipient will provide and/or make available materials procured and/or developed under this award to the MOH and/or CDC, consistent with applicable grant regulations.

Funding Information

• The expected number of awards is 1-2.
• Average One Year Award Amount: $4,700,000
• Total Period of Performance Length: 5

Outcomes

• Short-Term Outcomes:
  • Increased availability and use of updated national policies and guidelines
    • Policies and guidelines include but are not limited to National HIS policy, HIS Strategy, National M&E Strategic Plan and National Surveillance and Survey Plan
  • Increased functionality of M&E systems at all levels
    • M&E systems include the Health Information Management System tools (health reporting tools) and reporting process, DHIS-2 system, program indicator monitoring and review meetings
  • Increased MOH capacity to lead joint HIV/TB program supportive supervisions
    • Joint supportive supervision involves inclusion of several stakeholders in planning, conducting field visits, reports writing, dissemination of findings and its use
  • Increased timely and complete reporting of quality HIV/TB data through DHIS2
  • Increased availability and use of standard health program reporting tools
    • Standard health program reporting tools include program register books and monthly reporting tools
  • Increased use of health program data
    • Program data is collected at weekly or monthly intervals using standard paperbased registers at the point of service delivery
  • Increased functionality of the national LMIS.
    • Functionality of LMIS will be determine through existence of facility based opensource digital platform that is interoperable with sub-national and national digital system and the use of the system for commodity management
  • Increased availability of strategy, guidelines, and policies on digital HIS
    • The digital HIS strategies, policies and guidelines are important to guide implementation of the interoperable HIS.
  • Increased use of unique identifiers (IDs) for longitudinal tracking of clients from HIV diagnosis to death
    • Unique identifiers are identification codes that are assigned to individuals to help identify and track individuals across several service points at different service locations.
  • Increased availability of up-to-date information for FSW services programming
  • Increased HIV case identification
• Intermediate Outcomes:
  • Increased health program M&E skills at county and state level
    • M&E skills include accurate data collection skills, data analysis and presentation skills and ability to drive data use by managers and policy makers
  • Improved HIV national and sub-national cascade monitoring
    • Cascade monitoring refers to ability to develop and describe the UNAIDS 95-95- 95 at national, state and county levels
  • Increased availability of accurate data on HIV epidemic in the country at national and subnational level
    • Data on the HIV epidemic will be derived through spectrum estimates
  • Improved ability to track clients on ART and TB care using secure digital interoperable HIS
    • The ability to efficiently tracking clients is supported by a secure standard interoperable electronic system that collects important individual data that helps to identify an individual at the point of service delivery and track the individual through the continuum of care. The data may be collected from different sources using different HIS components that may be developed over time using a phased approach.
    • The digital and interoperable open-source HIS may include LMIS, LIS, DHIS-2 and antiretroviral (ARV) dispensing system
  • Increased country use of secure digital interoperable HIS
    • A digital inter-operable HIS includes LMIS, LIS and DHIS-2
  • Increased availability of complete data through secure interoperable HIS
    • Availability of data refers to ability of reporting units submitting data through the interoperable HIS based on MOH reporting schedules
  • Increased national capacity to conduct surveillance and surveys
    • Surveillance activities refers to case surveillance and surveys include BBS for FSWs
• Long-Term Outcomes:
  • Increased use of quality data to support sustainable HIV epidemic control at all levels
  • Improved interoperability and security of HIS
    • Improved inter-operability refers to the systems operating accurately without errors and ability to transmit required data sets across systems.
    • Security refers to protection of personally identifiable information and use of the systems by only authorized persons.

Target Populations

The target populations for this NOFO include PLHIV who will be enabled to access ART and remain on treatment. FSWs will also benefit through improved services through data availability and access to HIV services tailored to their needs. MOH staff at national, state, county and facility levels will gain skills in M&E, HIS, surveillance and surveys. Most positions required to produce the outcomes outlined will be filled by local country staff, providing job opportunities to citizens of South Sudan.

Eligibility Criteria

• Government Organizations:
• State governments or their bona fide agents (includes the District of Columbia)
• Local governments or their bona fide agents
• Territorial governments or their bona fide agents in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau
• State controlled institutions of higher education
• American Indian or Alaska Native tribal governments (federally recognized or state-recognized)
• Non-government Organizations
• American Indian or Alaska native tribally designated organizations
• Other
• Ministries of Health

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=334955