Open Call: Provision of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention in the South Africa under the PEPFAR

Deadline: 07-Mar-23

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced the applications for the Provision of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) for HIV Prevention in the Republic of South Africa under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has called for immediate, comprehensive and evidence-based action to turn the tide of global HIV/AIDS. The overarching purpose of this NOFO is to fund activities to prevent or control disease or injury and improve health, or to improve a public health program or service.

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 1-5.
• The Approximate Total Fiscal Year Funding/Average One Year Award Amount/Approximate Average Award amount for Year 1 is $50,000,000.
• Total Period of Performance Length: 5 year(s)

Target Populations 

• This NOFO targets populations and people at high risk for acquiring and transmitting HIV and people with or at risk of developing TB. VMMC services will be targeted at males ≥15 years of age, focusing on the 15-29-year-old age group. The NOFO also targets HCW, national and provincial DoH staff, and recipients of the capacity building and TA efforts.
• There is a particular focus on those living in the 27 priority geographic areas (districts) listed below, as jointly identified and agreed upon by the government of SA and PEPFAR. Priority districts/geographic areas may change over time based on HIV and TB/HIV burden, national priorities, funding, and policy shift. The recipient(s) may be asked to expand or contract activities within the 27 priority districts. Based on identified needs, they may also be asked to expand programs to areas outside the 27 priority districts.
• List of the current 27 Priority Districts:
  • Eastern Cape: Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Buffalo City, Chris Hani, and Oliver Tambo
  • Free State: Lejweleputswa and Thabo Mofutsanyane
  • Gauteng: City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and Sedibeng
  • KwaZulu-Natal: eThekwini, Harry Gwala, King Cetshwayo, Ugu, uMgungundlovu, Uthukela and Zululand
  • Limpopo: Capricorn and Mopani
  • Mpumalanga: Ehlanzeni, Gert Sibande and Nkangala
  • North West: Bojanala, Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Ngaka Modiri Molema
  • Western Cape: City of Cape Town

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 Grants.gov.