Supporting Implementation of Comprehensive HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Programs in Bomu Hospital Affiliated Sites, Coptic Hospitals, and Faith-Based Sites in the Eastern Slums of Nairobi, Kenya under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS R | CDC RFA GH16 169002CONT18

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this grant opportunity about?

This is a U.S. government public health grant under PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) intended to support ongoing, comprehensive HIV services in the eastern slums of Nairobi, Kenya. The focus is on sustaining and strengthening a coordinated package of HIV prevention, care, and treatment activities delivered through networks connected to Bomu Hospital affiliated sites, Coptic Hospitals, and faith-based service delivery sites.

2) What is the main purpose or intent of the funding?

The overall intent is to maintain continuity of HIV service delivery and improve program performance in high-need, resource-constrained urban settings. The opportunity emphasizes sustaining core services while strengthening coordination, quality, monitoring, and results across the supported facility and community catchment areas.

3) Which program or initiative is this funding made under?

The opportunity is made under PEPFAR, which supports HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment activities globally. The listing is associated with CFDA 93.067, which corresponds to global HIV/AIDS program activities.

4) What type of funding mechanism is being used?

The mechanism is a Cooperative Agreement. This typically means CDC provides funding and remains substantively involved in implementation through technical direction, oversight, monitoring, and collaboration with the recipient during the project period.

5) What does it mean that this is a Cooperative Agreement (not a standard grant)?

In a Cooperative Agreement, the funder (here, CDC) generally expects to participate actively in the work beyond standard grant administration. Based on the synopsis, CDC involvement is expected in technical direction, oversight, monitoring, and collaboration, which can shape how activities are implemented and reported.

6) Is this a new program or a continuation of existing work?

The opportunity category is listed as "Continuation." That typically indicates it is designed to extend or continue activities already underway under an existing project, rather than launching an entirely new program. Continuation opportunities often focus on sustaining delivery, meeting updated targets, and integrating updated technical guidance and reporting expectations.

7) Who is the administering agency for this opportunity?

The administering agency is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health (CGH).

8) What is the funding opportunity number?

The funding opportunity number is CDC RFA GH16-169002CONT18.

9) What is the CFDA number and what does it indicate?

The CFDA number is 93.067. In this listing, it corresponds to global HIV/AIDS program activities, aligning the opportunity with international HIV programming supported by the U.S. government.

10) Where will the funded activities take place?

The geographic focus is the eastern slums of Nairobi, Kenya, specifically through service delivery networks connected to Bomu Hospital affiliated sites, Coptic Hospitals, and faith-based service delivery sites and their catchment communities.

11) What kinds of organizations or sites are referenced in the scope?

The opportunity references hospital-affiliated networks (including Bomu Hospital affiliated sites and Coptic Hospitals) and faith-based service delivery sites. The work commonly involves harmonizing standards across varied facility types and strengthening referral and service networks.

12) What does "comprehensive HIV services" likely include in this context?

Based on the description, a comprehensive package in PEPFAR-supported service delivery settings typically implies a combination of HIV prevention, clinical care, and treatment activities. Examples mentioned or implied include HIV testing services and linkage to care, ART initiation and continuation, retention and adherence support, PMTCT services, management of opportunistic infections including TB/HIV integration, viral load monitoring and actions to improve viral suppression, and targeted prevention interventions for populations at elevated risk.

13) Does the opportunity include community-based activities, or only facility-based services?

The intent covers both facilities and their catchment communities. The synopsis highlights community-facility linkage strategies, retention and tracing, and differentiated service delivery approaches often used in densely populated urban environments to support continuity of care.

14) Why is the focus specifically on the eastern slums of Nairobi?

The listing points to implementation in densely populated, resource-constrained urban settings where challenges such as mobility, stigma, poverty, and uneven access to quality services can undermine continuity of care. The emphasis is on sustaining services while strengthening performance where need is high.

15) What kinds of implementation challenges does the opportunity anticipate?

Based on the description of the setting, common challenges include patient mobility, stigma, poverty-related barriers, and uneven service quality, which can contribute to missed appointments, delayed ART initiation, low viral load coverage, and weaker retention. The program framing suggests the need for active retention strategies, data-driven gap identification, and coordinated referral networks.

16) What role does data and performance improvement play in this opportunity?

Strengthening performance is a key emphasis. The synopsis highlights data-driven identification of gaps (such as missed appointments or low viral load coverage), improvements to data systems for accurate reporting and timely decisions, and quality improvement approaches that may include collaboratives, mentoring, and aligned clinical training.

17) Will CDC be involved in monitoring and evaluation?

Yes. Because this is a CDC Cooperative Agreement, the synopsis indicates CDC is expected to be substantively involved in oversight and monitoring, in addition to technical direction and collaboration during implementation.

18) How many awards are expected under this opportunity?

The notice lists an expected number of awards of 10, indicating multiple recipients may be funded. This can allow coverage across different site groupings, service components, or geographic clusters within the targeted area.

19) Who is eligible to apply?

The eligibility field is listed as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the full announcement. This wording is often used when eligibility is limited to specific types of entities or organizations that meet criteria described in the complete notice. Because this is a continuation opportunity, eligibility is often limited to existing recipients or pre-identified partners, but the definitive rules are in the full eligibility language.

20) Is this an open competition?

The synopsis alone does not confirm whether it is fully open or limited. The "Continuation" category and the "Others" eligibility label can indicate limited competition tied to prior awards or specific partners, but the full announcement would need to be consulted to verify.

21) What is the award ceiling and what does it mean if it is listed as 0?

The award ceiling is shown as 0 in the synopsis. This generally means the public posting did not specify a maximum funding level per award, not that there is no funding. In such cases, award amounts may vary by recipient and be determined by availability of funds and an approved workplan, with specifics typically provided in the full announcement or during award negotiations.

22) When was the opportunity created and what was the closing date listed?

The opportunity was created on January 30, 2017, and the original closing date listed was March 31, 2017.

23) What kinds of capacity-strengthening activities are suggested by the synopsis?

The description suggests strengthening facility capacity through approaches commonly used in PEPFAR-supported programs, such as workforce mentoring, clinical training aligned with national and WHO guidance, quality improvement collaboratives, and improvements to data systems for accurate reporting and program management.

24) Does the opportunity mention integration with TB services?

Yes. The synopsis explicitly references management of opportunistic infections including TB/HIV integration as part of the comprehensive approach typically supported in this context.

25) Does the opportunity mention viral load monitoring and viral suppression improvement?

Yes. The synopsis highlights viral load monitoring and actions to improve viral suppression as part of the comprehensive HIV service package.

26) What does the synopsis suggest about coordination across different provider types?

Because the targeted networks include hospital-affiliated sites and faith-based service delivery sites, the synopsis suggests a need to harmonize standards of care across facility types, strengthen referral networks, and ensure consistent access to commodities and laboratory services where possible through national systems and PEPFAR-supported supply chains.

27) Is this opportunity focused only on HIV treatment, or also on prevention and care?

The title and description indicate a comprehensive approach spanning HIV prevention, clinical care, and treatment. The synopsis mentions prevention interventions as well as ART, PMTCT, TB/HIV integration, and retention and adherence support.

28) What does "service continuity" mean in the context of this opportunity?

Within the synopsis, service continuity refers to maintaining uninterrupted delivery of core HIV services (testing, treatment, follow-up, monitoring) in settings where patients may face barriers that disrupt care. The description points to strategies like differentiated service delivery, active tracing, and stronger community-facility linkages to reduce disruptions.

29) What should an interested organization do to confirm details like eligibility and budget expectations?

Based on the synopsis, key details such as eligibility restrictions and funding specifics (given the 0 award ceiling listing) are likely defined in the full funding announcement. Confirming whether the competition is open or limited and how budgets are determined would require reviewing the complete notice language referenced in the announcement.

30) How should this opportunity be summarized in plain terms?

In plain terms, this is CDC/PEPFAR continuation support for organizations working with specific hospital and faith-based networks in Nairobi's eastern slums to keep comprehensive HIV services running and to improve performance, with close CDC involvement under a Cooperative Agreement and multiple expected awards.