Improving HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Outcomes Among Faith Communities in Zambia by Implementing Critical Prevention Interventions for HIV Risk Reduction, Case Finding, and Linkage to Care and Treatment for Epidemic Control under PEPFAR | CDC RFA GH20 2076

Opportunity Information: Apply for CDC RFA GH20 2076

This funding opportunity is a CDC cooperative agreement under PEPFAR (Funding Opportunity Number CDC RFA GH20-2076; CFDA 93.067) focused on improving HIV prevention, care, and treatment outcomes in Zambia by working through faith communities and other non-traditional service settings. While Zambia has reduced HIV incidence by about 24 percent since 2010, the notice highlights that progress has not reached everyone equally, especially men and adolescents. The basic premise is that some of the people least reached by standard health facilities may be more willing to engage through trusted community structures such as faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs). Because an estimated 90 percent of the population in Zambia identifies with faith settings such as the Church, the grant is designed to use these networks to expand HIV awareness, normalize testing and prevention, and strengthen pathways into clinical care.

The program goal is to engage faith leaders and faith communities as influential partners for epidemic control by improving knowledge and attitudes about HIV and then translating those shifts into practical changes in community behavior and service uptake. The opportunity emphasizes interventions that promote HIV risk reduction, strengthen case finding (identifying people with HIV who are not yet diagnosed), and improve linkage to care and treatment. In practice, this means supporting faith/community platforms to encourage HIV testing and status awareness, reduce stigma that discourages people from seeking services, and create clear referral and follow-up mechanisms so that individuals who test positive are quickly connected to treatment services and retained in care. The focus on leaders is deliberate: the notice frames faith leaders as key opinion shapers whose endorsement can influence norms, reduce discrimination, and increase community acceptance of prevention and treatment.

A second major component is primary prevention of sexual violence and HIV among adolescents ages 9 to 14. The NOFO calls for evidence-based activities that prevent sexual violence, coercion, non-consensual or forced sex, and early sexual debut. It also points to strengthening the protective role of families and communities by building safer environments that reduce violence and sexual risk. Importantly, the notice goes beyond prevention messaging by explicitly including support for linking victims of violence to the justice system, signaling an expectation that programs coordinate with relevant protection and legal mechanisms rather than treating violence as only a health education issue.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, CDC anticipated approximately $7.5 million in total funding for Year 1, contingent on availability of funds, with an expected two awards. The posted Year 1 award ceiling is listed as $0, which typically indicates that CDC did not set a fixed maximum award amount per recipient in the public synopsis and that budgets would be evaluated based on the proposed approach and available funding rather than a stated cap. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility language in the full announcement). Applications were due February 19, 2020, and the opportunity is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Center for Global Health, using a cooperative agreement mechanism, which usually implies substantial CDC involvement in technical direction and ongoing collaboration during implementation.

Overall, the opportunity is aimed at accelerating HIV epidemic control in Zambia by meeting people where they already gather and place trust, particularly men and adolescents who may be underserved by conventional clinic-based outreach. It combines community norm change led by faith leaders, practical service linkages for testing and treatment, and targeted early adolescent interventions to prevent sexual violence and reduce HIV risk, with an emphasis on evidence-based programming and stronger connections to both health services and justice/support systems.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control - CGH in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Improving HIV Prevention, Care and Treatment Outcomes Among Faith Communities in Zambia by Implementing Critical Prevention Interventions for HIV Risk Reduction, Case Finding, and Linkage to Care and Treatment for Epidemic Control under 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 Dec 19, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 19, 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.

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