The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is offering a cooperative agreement to strengthen the national HIV care and treatment program in Sierra Leone, aiming to accelerate the response to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030 under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The initiative focuses on delivering sustainable HIV care, closing equity gaps for prioritized populations, enhancing monitoring and evaluation systems, and supporting national policy implementation to achieve the UNAIDS goals of 95% awareness, 95% treatment coverage, and 95% viral load suppression among those living with HIV. This funding opportunity is crucial for building local capacity and improving public health systems in Sierra Leone, with an anticipated total funding amount of $12 million for the first year, contingent on satisfactory progress and adherence to federal regulations. Interested applicants can submit their proposals electronically by February 24, 2025, and may contact Emily Dale at pepfarfoas@cdc.gov for further information.

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The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) issued by the CDC aims to strengthen the national HIV care and treatment program in Sierra Leone, in alignment with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The application deadline is February 24, 2025, with an anticipated award start date of September 30, 2025. The funding totals $12 million for the first year, with a competitive preference for local organizations. 

Key objectives include delivering sustainable HIV care, closing equity gaps for prioritized populations, enhancing data collection, and supporting national policy implementation. The program will adopt a cooperative agreement framework and will require comprehensive strategies for client-centered services, workforce capacity building, and continuous quality improvement initiatives. 

Funding is contingent on satisfactory progress and adherence to federal regulations. Eligible applicants are varied, including government entities, educational institutions, nonprofits, and international organizations. The initiative seeks to reach UNAIDS goals of 95% awareness, 95% treatment coverage, and 95% viral load suppression among those living with HIV, ultimately aiming for epidemic control by 2030. This NOFO reflects ongoing federal commitment to combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic in collaboration with local partners.

The Award Ceiling for Year 1 is 0 (none). CDC anticipates an Approximate Total Fiscal Year Funding amount of $7,500,000 for Year 1, subject to the availability of funds.The NOFO will support the government of Sierra Leone (SL) in speeding up progress to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030 through direct service delivery (DSD) and technical assistance (TA), including:Carrying out a sustainable HIV care and treatment program and quality improvement projects.Building local capacity, human resources for health, and partnerships to strengthen sustainable public health systems.This NOFO has several objectives, including to:Carry out sustainable, high-quality HIV care and treatment services and reach the 95-95-95 treatment targets for people living with HIV by age, gender, and population group.Close equity gaps for key and priority populations, including adolescent girls, young women, and children.Improve and sustain monitoring and evaluation (M&amp;E) systems to build capacity for high-quality data collection, analysis, and use of data for decision-making at the community and facility levels.Support national policies, guidelines, materials, and procurement for a full package of HIV prevention, care, and treatment.Optimize quality improvement and quality assurance (QI/QA) and related support services at the facility level.Collaborate with the government of SL to strengthen the technical and managerial capacity of national and district health management teams (DHMT) and civil society organizations (CSO) to carry out service delivery models that are customized for country ownership of the HIV response.

Strengthening the national HIV care and treatment program in Sierra Leone (SL) to accelerate the response to end the HIV/AIDS pandemic as a public health threat by 2030, under the President&#8217;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

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