Scaling High Quality Laboratory Services for HIV Diagnosis, Care, Treatment and Monitoring in Mozambique under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH19 1938

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH19 1938

The grant opportunity titled "Scaling High Quality Laboratory Services for HIV Diagnosis, Care, Treatment and Monitoring in Mozambique under PEPFAR" is a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cooperative agreement designed to strengthen Mozambique's national laboratory system as a core part of the country's HIV response. The focus is on building a stronger, better managed, and more reliable integrated laboratory network that supports clinical diagnosis, routine screening, and public health surveillance, all of which are essential for effective HIV care and treatment and for broader disease detection and control. The program is intended to work closely with Mozambique's Ministry of Health (MOH), emphasizing long-term country ownership and sustainability rather than temporary, externally driven support.

At the heart of the opportunity is the idea that laboratory services are not just add-ons to healthcare, but foundational infrastructure. Strong labs help clinicians make correct treatment decisions, enable timely monitoring of patients on antiretroviral therapy, and provide the data needed to detect outbreaks and track disease trends. This funding opportunity aims to improve how the national laboratory network is governed and managed, strengthen the institutions that train and employ laboratory professionals, build technical and scientific capacity, and expand the use of quality management systems so that laboratories can steadily move toward recognized accreditation standards. In practical terms, this means improvements across the entire lab ecosystem: leadership and coordination, workforce development, standardized procedures, ongoing quality checks, biosafety, and better use of laboratory information systems to ensure results are delivered accurately and on time.

The NOFO lays out several expected outcomes that describe what success should look like. One major outcome is more efficient laboratory network operations, meaning the network should function with clearer coordination, better resource use, and stronger performance across tiers of the health system. Another key outcome is the increased implementation of quality management systems through a quality improvement and accreditation program that is both technically sound and financially sustainable, and critically, owned and implemented by the MOH. The program also prioritizes expanding the coverage and quality of external quality assessment (EQA) services, which are essential for verifying that laboratories produce accurate, reliable results over time. Biosafety is a distinct priority as well, with an emphasis on improved adherence to laboratory biosafety standards to protect staff, patients, and communities and to reduce risks associated with handling infectious materials.

Workforce development is a central theme throughout. The NOFO calls for effective pre-service laboratory training that is evaluated through measured performance, suggesting an emphasis on competency-based training and demonstrable outcomes rather than training delivered for its own sake. It also aims to improve overall capacity of the laboratory workforce while reducing dependence on external training support, reflecting a shift toward building durable national training systems and local expertise. Finally, it highlights the importance of laboratory information systems, expecting appropriate coverage and performance so that data and results can move efficiently within facilities and across the national network, supporting clinical care decisions and national surveillance needs.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity offered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the CDC (Center for Global Health). The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means substantial involvement by the CDC in technical guidance and collaboration during implementation. The opportunity is listed under CFDA number 93.067 and categorized under health. Eligibility is described as unrestricted, meaning it is open to a broad range of applicant entity types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full notice text. The funding opportunity number is CDC RFA GH19-1938, with an award ceiling of $5,000,000 and an expectation of two awards. The original posting date was August 21, 2018, and the original application deadline was October 22, 2018, with electronic submissions due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.

Overall, the grant is structured to help Mozambique strengthen its laboratory system in a way that directly supports HIV diagnosis, treatment monitoring, and patient management while also improving broader public health capabilities. It is aimed at delivering measurable improvements in quality, safety, workforce competency, and data systems, with a clear emphasis on MOH leadership and sustainable, nationally owned approaches to laboratory network improvement and accreditation readiness.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Scaling High Quality Laboratory Services for HIV Diagnosis, Care, Treatment and Monitoring in Mozambique under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)" 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 Aug 21, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 22, 2018 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.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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