Strengthening National Health Information System to Generate Quality Health Data for Informed Decision Making in South Sudan under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH22 2220

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH22 2220

The grant opportunity "Strengthening National Health Information System to Generate Quality Health Data for Informed Decision Making in South Sudan under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)" is a CDC-funded cooperative agreement designed to improve how South Sudan collects, manages, analyzes, and uses health and HIV data for decision-making. It sits within the broader PEPFAR effort and is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health. The activity is categorized under health (CFDA 93.067) and is structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically means CDC expects to be substantially involved in technical direction and collaboration during implementation rather than acting only as a funder.

Funding details are somewhat unusual on paper but clear in intent. The notice states the Year 1 award ceiling is listed as 0 (meaning no fixed maximum is specified for a single award in the first year), while CDC anticipates an approximate total funding amount of $4,700,000 for Year 1, contingent on available funds. The notice also indicates an expectation of two awards, suggesting CDC planned to split or allocate that total across two recipients. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications contained in the full announcement. The opportunity number is CDC RFA GH22 2220, it was posted on December 29, 2021, and the original application deadline was February 28, 2022, with electronic submissions due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time.

The rationale for the program is rooted in South Sudan's heavy reliance on donor funding for HIV/AIDS programming, including the systems used to track service delivery and outcomes. CDC notes it has funded two prior projects since 2012 focused on strengthening the health system and building national capacity for integrated HIV data collection, analysis, and use. Those earlier investments reportedly produced several concrete improvements: the Ministry of Health developed key national HIV guidelines and strategic plans; reporting improved across health programs through the rollout and use of District Health Information System 2 (DHIS-2); national data became more available for global HIV reporting and better aligned between PEPFAR and the Ministry of Health; female sex workers bio-behavioral survey data became available; monitoring and evaluation staff capacity improved at national, state, county, and facility levels; HIV Spectrum estimates were generated; and stronger data and technical support contributed to successful Global Fund applications. In addition, Ministry of Health staff improved their skills in monitoring and evaluation and in conducting surveys, which are essential for tracking epidemics and program impact.

This new funding opportunity is positioned as a continuation and expansion of that earlier work over a five-year period, with the main goal of ensuring South Sudan can generate higher-quality health data and actually use it to guide policy and program choices. The announcement lays out four broad areas of support. First is health system strengthening, which typically includes building institutional capacity, clarifying roles and governance, improving coordination, and strengthening the workforce and processes that make routine reporting and data use possible. Second is health information system strengthening, centered on making systems like DHIS-2 work better in practice: improving data flow from facilities upward, improving data completeness and timeliness, standardizing indicators and tools, addressing data quality gaps, and ensuring systems are usable for both national management and donor reporting requirements. Third is strengthening overall health monitoring and evaluation, which implies broader improvements beyond HIV alone, such as establishing consistent M&E frameworks, enhancing supportive supervision, improving analytical skills, and promoting routine review meetings where data is interpreted and translated into action. Fourth is support for priority HIV/TB surveillance and surveys, reflecting the need for periodic population and key-population surveillance, bio-behavioral surveys, and other targeted studies that fill gaps routine systems cannot capture, especially for HIV and TB co-infection dynamics.

Taken together, the opportunity is less about funding direct clinical services and more about building the backbone required for an evidence-based response: reliable routine reporting, aligned indicators, competent M&E staff, and targeted surveillance that can validate and complement routine data. The end result CDC is aiming for is a national health information environment where decision-makers can trust the numbers, compare results over time and across geographies, meet global reporting requirements, and plan HIV/TB responses based on clear evidence rather than incomplete or fragmented information.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening National Health Information System to Generate Quality Health Data for Informed Decision Making in South Sudan 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 Dec 29, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 28, 2022 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 1159 pm ET on the listed application due date.. (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 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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