Strengthening the Delivery and Expanding Access to Quality Laboratory Services and Enhancing Healthcare Worker and Laboratory Safety in the Republic of South Africa under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). | CDC RFA GH15 157502CONT16

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH15 157502CONT16

This grant opportunity is a continuation cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) focused on South Africa. The core purpose is to strengthen how laboratory services are delivered, broaden access to quality testing, and improve safety for both healthcare workers and laboratory personnel. In practical terms, the opportunity is centered on maintaining and advancing the laboratory systems and safety improvements that support HIV-related services and the broader public health response, recognizing that reliable diagnostics and safe working environments are essential foundations for effective prevention, treatment, and monitoring programs.

A key point is that this is not an open competition for new applicants. It is explicitly described as continuation funding, intended only for organizations that were already funded under the earlier related announcement, CDC-RFA-GH15-1575. That means eligibility is effectively limited to prior awardees, with the continuation award designed to sustain ongoing work rather than launch a new set of projects. The opportunity category is listed as continuation, and the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement by the CDC in programmatic direction, collaboration, and oversight compared to a standard grant.

The program sits within a health funding activity category and is associated with CFDA number 93.067, which aligns with CDC global HIV/AIDS and related public health efforts. While the source data lists eligible applicants as "Others," the continuation-only language makes clear that the practical eligible pool is restricted to previous grantees under the cited funding opportunity. The timeline details show an original closing date of December 5, 2015, and a creation date of October 5, 2015, reflecting when this continuation notice entered the system and when related application or continuation actions would have been due.

In terms of what the work itself is aiming to accomplish, the title and description point to two main tracks: quality and access in laboratory services, and workforce safety. On the quality and access side, this generally involves strengthening laboratory networks and operations so that testing is accurate, timely, and consistent across sites, and so that more people can get the diagnostic services needed for HIV care and prevention. That can include improving quality management systems, supporting standards and accreditation efforts, strengthening specimen referral and result reporting systems, ensuring reliable supply chains for lab commodities, and building capacity for key diagnostic platforms relevant to HIV and co-infections. On the safety side, the focus is on preventing occupational exposures and improving biosafety and infection prevention practices in labs and healthcare settings, which often includes safer procedures, training, appropriate personal protective equipment practices, waste management, and facility or workflow improvements that reduce risk to staff.

The posting does not provide an award ceiling and lists the award ceiling as 0, which commonly signals that the dollar amount is not being specified in the public synopsis or is handled through internal continuation budgeting rather than a new competitive funding amount. The number of expected awards is not stated in the provided data, which also fits a continuation structure where awards correspond to existing cooperative agreements rather than a new cohort of recipients.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as CDC/PEPFAR sustaining an existing South Africa laboratory strengthening and safety initiative through continuation funding. The emphasis is on reinforcing the systems that make HIV-related laboratory services dependable and widely accessible while also protecting the health workforce and laboratory staff through stronger safety practices and safeguards.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening the Delivery and Expanding Access to Quality Laboratory Services and Enhancing Healthcare Worker and Laboratory Safety in the Republic of South Africa 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 2015-10-05.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2015-12-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for CDC RFA GH15 157502CONT16

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