Building Capacity to Deliver High Quality HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Services for Key Populations and People Living with HIV in the Caribbean Region under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | CDC RFA GH16 1607

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the title of this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "Building Capacity to Deliver High Quality HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Services for Key Populations and People Living with HIV in the Caribbean Region under PEPFAR."

2) Which federal agency is administering this opportunity?

The opportunity is administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listed under the agency area CDC - CGH.

3) What type of funding mechanism is being used?

This is a cooperative agreement. That typically indicates CDC expects substantial involvement beyond awarding funds, such as providing technical guidance, collaborating on planning, and monitoring progress toward agreed deliverables.

4) What is the primary purpose or intent of the award?

The core intent is to strengthen national HIV programs across the Caribbean by building the capacity of Ministries of Health (MOHs) to better plan, manage, and deliver HIV prevention, care, and treatment services using a technical assistance (TA) approach.

5) What public health problem does this funding opportunity focus on?

It targets a concentrated HIV epidemic in the Caribbean, with a major focus on key populations, particularly men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers (SW), and transgender (TG) individuals.

6) Which region is the focus of this cooperative agreement?

The regional focus is the Caribbean.

7) Who are the key populations specifically highlighted in the announcement?

The announcement highlights men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers (SW), and transgender (TG) individuals as key populations in the region.

8) How does this opportunity relate to PEPFAR?

The award is described as being under PEPFAR and references alignment with HIV COP/CT context, indicating it is intended to support PEPFAR country operational planning priorities and broader prevention and treatment strategies.

9) What outcomes or global targets does the work aim to support?

The work is intended to help countries move closer to the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals, including improving diagnosis, treatment coverage, and viral suppression.

10) Is this primarily a direct service delivery project?

No. The emphasis is on sustainable, national-level systems strengthening and program capability improvements rather than a short-term service delivery project.

11) What does "capacity building" mean in the context of this opportunity?

Based on the description, capacity building involves strengthening how MOHs plan, manage, and deliver HIV services so improvements are sustainable over time and can be maintained at the national program level.

12) What is meant by a technical assistance (TA) approach?

A TA approach, as described, centers on providing support such as guidance, training, systems strengthening, and implementation assistance to improve national HIV program performance.

13) What is "high impact combination prevention" in practical terms?

The announcement describes combination prevention as aligning and strengthening multiple interventions at once. Examples referenced include targeted testing and linkage to care, effective antiretroviral treatment and viral load monitoring, prevention services tailored to key populations, and program improvements that reduce gaps across the HIV care continuum.

14) What parts of the HIV response are emphasized?

The opportunity emphasizes prevention, care, and treatment improvements across the HIV care continuum, including finding people living with HIV, linking them to effective treatment, retaining them in care, and achieving viral suppression, alongside scaling prevention strategies for key populations.

15) What is the funding activity category?

The funding activity category is Health.

16) What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed is 93.067.

17) What is the opportunity number?

The opportunity number is CDC RFA GH16 1607.

18) What is the award ceiling?

The award ceiling listed is $1,036,000.

19) How many awards were expected?

The announcement indicates an expectation of a single award (ExpectedAwards: 1).

20) When was the application closing date listed for this opportunity?

The original closing date listed for applications was 2017-07-28.

21) What is the record creation date shown in the summary?

The record shows a creation date of 2015-12-03.

22) Are the listed dates important for interpreting whether the opportunity is currently open?

Yes. The dates indicate this was a time-bound competition. If someone is viewing this summary now, it should be treated as informational unless a recompetition or a related active announcement exists.

23) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad and includes domestic and non-domestic entities. Examples listed include many types of governments, educational institutions, tribal entities, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, for-profit organizations (including small businesses), individuals, and non-U.S. entities.

24) Are non-U.S. (non-domestic) entities eligible?

Yes. The eligibility language explicitly includes non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities, which aligns with the Caribbean regional focus.

25) What types of government entities are eligible?

Government eligibility includes state, county, city or township governments, special district governments, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

26) What types of educational institutions are eligible?

Eligible educational institutions include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, independent school districts, and designated categories such as Hispanic-serving institutions, historically black colleges and universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions.

27) What tribal entities are eligible?

Eligible tribal entities include federally recognized tribal governments, other tribal organizations, tribally designated organizations, tribal epidemiology centers, and urban Indian health organizations.

28) Are nonprofits eligible even if they do not have 501(c)(3) status?

Yes. The eligibility list includes nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status.

29) Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply?

Yes. For-profit organizations, including small businesses, are listed as eligible.

30) Are individuals eligible to apply?

Yes. Individuals are included in the eligibility description.

31) What types of organizations are explicitly called out as commonly involved in this work?

The announcement explicitly calls out organizations commonly involved in public health implementation and TA work, including Ministries of Health, research institutions (as long as they perform activities deemed non-research), colleges and universities, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, hospitals, and small, minority, and women-owned businesses.

32) Does the announcement allow research institutions to apply?

Yes, research institutions are referenced as eligible as long as they perform activities deemed non-research.

33) What is the intended long-term result of the award?

The intended result is stronger and more sustainable national HIV responses in the Caribbean, with improved ability to diagnose people living with HIV, link them to treatment, retain them in care, achieve viral suppression, and scale prevention strategies tailored to a concentrated epidemic.

34) How does this opportunity describe the kind of improvements it is trying to support?

It emphasizes national-level improvements that strengthen systems and program capability over time, including scaling high impact combination prevention and reducing gaps across the HIV care continuum.