Technical Assistance to National Health Information Systems and Health Workforce Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH17 1749

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH17 1749

This grant opportunity, issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under PEPFAR, is a discretionary cooperative agreement focused on strengthening Ethiopia's national health information systems and the workforce needed to run them effectively. The overall aim is to improve how HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB) data are captured, managed, and used across the country, while also expanding surveillance capacity that can support public health emergency preparedness and response. A central theme running through the announcement is building a stronger culture of evidence-based decision-making, meaning health leaders and programs at every level can rely on timely, accurate data to guide planning, resource allocation, and performance improvement.

A major emphasis of the funding is technical assistance to modernize and reinforce electronic information systems in PEPFAR-supported service sites. This includes strengthening electronic medical record and reporting functionality in medical record units and antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinics, specifically so that HIV patient-level information can be tracked more consistently over time. In practice, that points to improvements in how individual patient records are entered, updated, protected, and analyzed, which is essential for continuity of care, retention tracking, and monitoring treatment outcomes. The opportunity also highlights health workforce and human resource information systems, signaling that the project is expected to help Ethiopia better track staffing, training, deployment, and workforce gaps using more reliable digital tools.

The work is designed to span the full health system, not just a handful of clinics. It explicitly references strengthening reporting systems at multiple levels, including the Federal Ministry of Health and Regional Health Bureaus, and it also includes key partner institutions such as the Family Guidance Association of Ethiopia, as well as health service structures within the Federal Police and the National Defense Force. That scope suggests the recipient would be expected to support harmonized standards and practices across different administrative and service delivery settings, helping ensure that data flows upward in a consistent way and that the same information can be used for both program management and national-level monitoring.

Another core component is building national capacity through Ethiopia's higher education sector. The announcement calls for strengthening local universities and colleges so they can train and deploy the right cadres to support health information systems across the country and develop local leadership in HIS. This points beyond short-term training workshops and toward more durable capacity building, such as developing curricula, practical placements, mentorship pipelines, and professional development pathways that produce graduates with skills in informatics, monitoring and evaluation, surveillance, data quality, and system administration. Over time, the goal is to reduce reliance on external technical support by expanding the domestic workforce that can manage, improve, and lead national HIS efforts.

From an operational standpoint, the opportunity is structured as a cooperative agreement, which generally means CDC expects substantial involvement in guiding or collaborating on the project during implementation rather than simply issuing funds with minimal engagement. The funding opportunity number is CDC RFA GH17-1749 under CFDA 93.067, with an award ceiling of $2,750,000 and an expectation of a single award. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, indicating a broad range of applicant types could apply. The original closing date was April 22, 2020, and the opportunity was created on August 8, 2016.

In short, this FOA targets the practical backbone of public health programming in Ethiopia: the systems that capture patient and program data, the surveillance capabilities needed for routine and emergency response, and the trained workforce required to operate and sustain those systems. By improving electronic recordkeeping at ART and related service points, strengthening HR and reporting platforms across institutions, and investing in local training and leadership development, the project is intended to make HIV/TB/STI monitoring more reliable and to enable faster, smarter decisions throughout the Ethiopian health system.

• The Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Technical Assistance to National Health Information Systems and Health Workforce Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia 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 2016-08-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-04-22. (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 $2,750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for CDC RFA GH17 1749

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