Grants for Strengthening the Quality, Accessibility, and Sustainability of the National Health Laboratory System (Tanzania)

Deadline: 24-Mar-23

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is seeking applications for Strengthening the Quality, Accessibility, and Sustainability of the National Health Laboratory System (NHLS) in the United Republic of Tanzania under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

This NOFO seeks to support improved access to, and sustainable delivery of, high-quality laboratory services for HIV, TB, and other diseases of public health importance. This NOFO is expected to also support the efficient use of the health laboratory diagnostic network for disease detection, outbreak response, and surveillance in Tanzania through above-site laboratory support initiatives. Accurate, timely, and reliable laboratory results are essential elements for clinical decision making, diagnosis, and management of patients, as well as for the surveillance and control of diseases of public health importance.

This NOFO is expected to provide technical assistance (TA) to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and PEPFAR Implementing Partners (IPs) to implement laboratory activities, including those focused on strengthening the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of the National Health Laboratory System (NHLS) across a six-tiered network at the national, zonal, regional, district, health center, and dispensary levels in the United Republic of Tanzania.

Goals and Priorities

Reducing the prevention and treatment gaps for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), children, and key populations (KP);
Strengthening national and local programmatic, financial, and community leadership;
Designing new partnerships with key private, public, and multi sector entities that can complement existing programs and expand reach;
Utilizing the PEPFAR platform for broader disease surveillance and public health programming, consistent with the PEPFAR legislative and funding authority;
Investing in the scale-up of cutting edge behavioral, and implementation science to bend the curve on new infections;
Improving the care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and related opportunistic infections by improving STI management; enhancing laboratory diagnostic capacity and the care and treatment of opportunistic infections; interventions for intercurrent diseases impacting HIV infected patients including tuberculosis (TB); and initiating programs to provide anti-retroviral therapy (ART);
Strengthening the capacity of countries to collect, use, and share surveillance data and manage national HIV/AIDS programs by expanding HIV/STI/TB surveillance programs and strengthening laboratory support for surveillance, diagnosis, treatment, disease monitoring, and HIV screening for blood safety; and
Developing, validating, and/or evaluating public health programs to inform, improve, and target appropriate interventions, as related to the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB, and opportunistic infections.

Funding Information

The expected number of awards is 1-2.
Average One Year Award Amount: $10,000,000

Target Populations

The target populations for this NOFO include health care workers at all levels, including: hospital directors, health managers, nurses, midwives, clinicians, medical laboratory personnel, non-laboratory HIV testers, health records information officers, data clerks, public health officials, biomedical engineers, medical waste handlers, and others who are responsible for deployment of appropriate strategies for strengthening the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of laboratory services in Tanzania across the tiered NHLS. In addition, the general population as well as PLHIV will benefit because of these activities.

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