Support to the Government of Botswana to Ensure Quality HIV-Related Strategic Information Services under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH20 2007

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2007

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Support to the Government of Botswana to Ensure Quality HIV-Related Strategic Information Services under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)" (Funding Opportunity Number: CDC RFA GH20-2007). The award mechanism is a Cooperative Agreement, which typically means CDC expects substantial involvement in technical direction and collaboration during implementation rather than simply providing funds and stepping back. The opportunity falls under the health activity category and is associated with CFDA 93.067. The application window opened January 6, 2020, with an original closing date of March 6, 2020 (applications due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time). Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning any entity type could apply unless limited by additional eligibility language in the full announcement. CDC anticipated making about two awards.

In terms of funding, the notice makes a point that the Year 1 award ceiling is listed as 0 (none), which is sometimes used in federal notices when the agency does not want to set a per-award cap in the public synopsis or expects final budgets to be negotiated. Even with that ceiling notation, CDC projected an approximate total funding level of $3,000,000 for Year 1 across the initiative, contingent on the availability of funds. In practice, this signals that applicants should propose realistic, well-justified budgets aligned to the work plan, with the understanding that final award amounts depend on federal appropriations and CDC's final determinations.

The core purpose of the opportunity is to strengthen HIV-related strategic information in Botswana so that data can be used routinely and confidently for decision-making within PEPFAR-supported programming. The announcement highlights that data use is a very high priority for PEPFAR, but Botswana has faced persistent challenges because program and survey data can be incomplete or delayed. Those gaps make it harder to understand both the HIV epidemic itself (for example, where transmission and burden are concentrated) and the reach and performance of HIV services (for example, who is being diagnosed, linked to care, retained, and virally suppressed). The notice also emphasizes that Botswana's health information system is complex: there are multiple electronic medical record systems, electronic data capture is not complete, and these realities reduce the quality, timeliness, and completeness of information needed for monitoring and evaluation. When the underlying data are fragmented or unreliable, monitoring and evaluation activities tend to become more limited, and data-driven program improvement becomes harder.

Recipients funded under this cooperative agreement are expected to support the Government of Botswana, including the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), in ensuring that comprehensive and high-quality HIV strategic information services function effectively at every level of the health system: site, district, and national. The work is described as both technical and systems-focused, aiming to improve how data are captured, integrated, analyzed, and ultimately used. One major expectation is support for the infrastructure and interoperability of existing health data systems, meaning work that helps different platforms and databases communicate with each other, reduces duplication, and improves the flow of information from facilities to district and national repositories. This can include improving system connections, establishing standards for data exchange, supporting unique identifiers or consistent patient record approaches where appropriate, and addressing practical barriers to complete electronic reporting.

A second major area is strengthening monitoring and evaluation (M and E) capacity and operations across multiple layers of the HIV response, including national, district, and site levels, as well as program and laboratory settings. This reflects the reality that HIV programs rely on routine service data (testing, treatment, retention, viral load monitoring) and laboratory data (viral load and other key tests) that must be aligned and reliable. Strengthening M and E in this context commonly involves improving indicator definitions and reporting routines, supporting data quality assurance practices, building workforce capacity through training and mentorship, and ensuring that data are reviewed and used in ongoing performance management rather than collected only for compliance reporting.

The opportunity also calls for support to develop and use HIV surveillance systems and surveys. Surveillance and survey data complement routine program data by helping estimate HIV prevalence and incidence, monitor trends, and identify gaps or emerging issues that routine facility reporting may not fully capture. The emphasis on development and use suggests the goal is not only to conduct surveillance activities but also to ensure the results are translated into actionable insights for program planning and resource allocation.

Another explicit objective is ensuring high-quality data are available across all health data systems. This is a broad but important requirement that generally includes improving completeness, accuracy, consistency, and timeliness, along with routine data quality checks and corrective actions. It also implies tackling the underlying causes of poor data quality, such as incomplete electronic capture at facilities, parallel systems that create conflicting numbers, or weak feedback loops between reporting levels. High-quality data, in this framing, are not just a technical preference; they are treated as essential for credible monitoring, evaluation, and strategic planning.

Finally, the notice emphasizes improving the actual utilization of data at site, district, and national levels by developing dashboards and other data tools. This element focuses on turning raw data into accessible visualizations and decision-support products that program managers and clinical leaders can use. Dashboards are highlighted because they can standardize how performance is viewed, help identify underperforming sites or districts, support targeting of supportive supervision, and enable faster responses to issues such as low viral load coverage, testing yield changes, or gaps in linkage and retention. The emphasis on use across all levels suggests a preference for tools that are practical for local managers, not only national analysts, and for workflows that embed routine review and action planning based on the data.

Overall, the opportunity is designed to address a common bottleneck in HIV responses: services can only be managed effectively when the information system produces complete, timely, and trustworthy data, and when staff have the tools and routines to interpret and act on that information. By focusing on interoperability, M and E strengthening, surveillance and surveys, data quality, and data-use tools like dashboards, CDC and PEPFAR are signaling that Botswana's HIV program performance and epidemic control goals depend heavily on improving the strategic information ecosystem that supports decisions from the clinic level up through national leadership.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Support to the Government of Botswana to Ensure Quality HIV-Related Strategic Information Services 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 Jan 06, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 06, 2020 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.)
• 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.

Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2007

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