Supplement: Improving Quality of Care and Health Impact through Innovative System Technologies in Malawi under PEPFAR

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The goal and objectives of the program is to solicit comprehensive and cost-effective technical assistance, capacity building and program implementation expertise for PEPFAR and Global Fund-supported global health activities (with emphasis on but not limited to HIV/AIDS) in the five programmatic areas listed under the purpose section of this FOA. This announcement will also support Global Fund implementing partners in assessing HIV service delivery and will develop technical assistance plans and strategies. This FOA will not provide direct program implementation. Rather, it will provide technical assistance support to PEPFAR and Global Fund implementing partners engaged in program implementation and scale-up activities.This FOA will support HHS/CDC’s efforts to provide high-quality, targeted technical assistance to ensure that the PEPFAR and Global Fund-supported countries have the capacity and necessary technical expertise to assume responsibility for service delivery and adequately respond to their HIV epidemics. While this announcement will address several of the overall program goals and objectives, it will primarily focus on five critical PEPFAR-supported technical areas. Applicants are expected to respond to one or more of the following program areas:Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT);HIV Care and Treatment Clinical Services for adults and children;HIV Pediatric Care and Treatment (PEDs);Surveillance and Strategic Information (SI); andLaboratoryThe overarching focus of this FOA is to fund activities to prevent or control disease or injury and improve health, or to improve a public health program or service. Recipients may not use funds for research. Certain activities that may require human subjects review due to institutional requirements but that are generally considered not to constitute research (e.g., formative assessments, surveys, disease surveillance, program monitoring and evaluation, field evaluation of diagnostic tests, etc.) may be funded through this mechanism.The purpose of this program is to strengthen health information systems at the facility level to improve the quality, integration, and effectiveness of service delivery across care points within Malawi in collaboration with USG implementing partners, including the Ministry of Health and relevant non-governmental organizations. Facility level refers to a facility where patients encounter health care workers and information is recorded at the point of care for service delivered. Such facilities would include health posts, dispensaries, maternities, health centers, community and rural hospitals, district hospitals, and central hospitals. This program will build solid foundations of national electronic HIS infrastructure of reliable data sources for both Health Management Information System national reporting as well as support a reliable National Health Data Repository for surveillance and epidemiological activities.While these systems will focus on HIV, they will be developed using a lifecycle continuum of care approach and cover other acute and chronic illnesses. Support will be provided to build country owned, sustainable and innovative integrated information systems that strengthen data collection, management and use at facility, district and national levels, and decrease the workload of healthcare workers.

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