Clinical and Public Health Curriculum Development, Training, Mentoring, and Implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement for the Haitian Healthcare System under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH 24 0071

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH 24 0071

This grant opportunity, titled "Clinical and Public Health Curriculum Development, Training, Mentoring, and Implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement for the Haitian Healthcare System under PEPFAR," is a CDC-led cooperative agreement focused on strengthening Haiti's capacity to deliver high-quality HIV prevention and treatment services. It is issued under Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA GH 24 0071 and is categorized as a discretionary health award (CFDA 93.067). The program is designed to support both frontline service improvement and the national leadership role of Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), especially around standard-setting and system-wide quality improvement.

For funding, CDC indicates an approximate total of $4,500,000 available for Year 1, depending on the availability of funds, and expects to make one award. Notably, the notice lists an "Award Ceiling for Year 1" as $0 (none), which typically signals that the agency is not setting a maximum cap per applicant in the usual way, rather than implying that no funds will be awarded. The original application closing date was February 22, 2024. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning the competition is open and not limited to a narrow class of applicants, though applicants would still need to demonstrate the technical capacity to operate in Haiti and implement PEPFAR-aligned HIV program strengthening activities.

The overall purpose of the award is twofold. First, it aims to build and enhance the capacity of Haiti's public health workforce so that HIV care, treatment, and prevention services improve in quality and consistency. This includes specific attention to prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT), a core PEPFAR priority area because it requires reliable clinical follow-up, strong antenatal and maternal services linkages, and high adherence to evidence-based protocols. Second, the award supports MSPP in its normative role, meaning its responsibility to set standards, develop national guidance, and provide stewardship so that health services are delivered according to consistent, approved policies across the country.

The opportunity emphasizes improving service delivery through hands-on technical assistance delivered at the facility level. A central strategy described is clinical mentoring for health facilities that provide HIV services. In practice, this usually involves experienced clinicians and program mentors working directly with facility teams to strengthen clinical decision-making, improve patient flow and follow-up, reinforce adherence counseling and retention strategies, support correct use of antiretroviral therapy protocols, and address practical bottlenecks that cause gaps in testing, treatment initiation, viral load monitoring, and PMTCT service continuity. The intent is not just one-time training but ongoing, on-the-job support that helps providers apply standards consistently in real settings.

Another major component is health workforce development, presented as both in-service and pre-service investments. On the in-service side, the NOFO calls for high-quality, tailored learning experiences that combine training and coaching for a range of audiences, including site-level providers, staff from partner organizations, and MSPP representatives at the departmental level. The emphasis on tailoring suggests that activities should be adapted to different provider roles (for example nurses, physicians, pharmacists, lab personnel, community health staff, and program managers) and to the needs of specific departments or facilities. On the pre-service side, the NOFO highlights specialized nurse training to promote task-sharing in HIV management, which generally means expanding the responsibilities of trained nurses so they can safely take on clinical tasks that might otherwise be limited to physicians, helping address workforce shortages and improving service coverage without compromising quality.

The NOFO also targets national standards for HIV health services delivery (SHSD) by working closely with MSPP to create, revise, and routinely update core normative tools. These tools include national guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and job aids. This part of the grant is essentially about ensuring that the clinical and programmatic rules of the road are current, evidence-based, aligned with international recommendations and PEPFAR priorities, and translated into practical materials that providers can actually use in busy clinical settings. Regular updates matter because HIV guidance evolves, and national documents often need revision to incorporate new testing algorithms, treatment regimens, differentiated service delivery models, PMTCT improvements, and monitoring approaches.

Finally, the grant prioritizes measurable improvement in the quality of services by supporting MSPP to implement a defined, tailored Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) model at both national and sub-national levels. CQI typically involves setting clear performance aims, measuring key indicators, identifying root causes of performance gaps, testing changes through structured cycles, and scaling what works. By emphasizing implementation at multiple levels, the NOFO signals that quality improvement should not be limited to individual facilities, but should be institutionalized through departmental and national structures so that improvement methods, data use, coaching, and accountability become part of how the system operates.

Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, CDC is likely to have substantial involvement beyond simply providing funds, such as collaborative planning, technical direction, and performance monitoring. Taken together, the opportunity is aimed at building a stronger and more self-sustaining Haitian HIV response by improving day-to-day clinical practice through mentoring, developing the workforce through training and task-sharing, strengthening national guidance through updated standards and tools, and embedding CQI practices so service quality improves consistently over time.

• The Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Clinical and Public Health Curriculum Development, Training, Mentoring, and Implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement for the Haitian Healthcare System 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 2023-12-06.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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