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PEPFAR South Sudan works in collaboration with the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) Ministry of Health (MOH) in implementing the HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan (NSP) based on a priority action approach and strong collaboration and coordination among different stakeholders. PEPFAR South Sudan has prioritized supporting the MOH in strengthening their national laboratory system with the primary objective of supporting the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and surveillance of HIV through high-quality laboratory services. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) solicits technical assistance (TA) to strengthen the GOSS MOH laboratory and blood transfusion services systems. Outcomes will include the overall strengthening of the National Reference Lab, implementing and achieving accreditation for quality assurance systems; strengthening service delivery through increased technical assistance to lab testing programs, and training and accreditation for the national blood safety programs. The ultimate outcome is a national integrated quality-assured network of tiered laboratories providing quality clinical laboratory services with the capacity to support the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and surveillance of HIV and other diseases and support the establishment of the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) and the National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS).

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking application for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Crop Improvement. This NOFO is designed to develop a global portfolio of crop improvement research-for-development activities.

The Global Connections program was designed by TCG and is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. US-based theatre organizations and individual artists may apply to one of the two initiatives of this new program: Global Connections-On the Road: This initiative will award 10 grants of up to $5,000 each to foster new relationships with international colleagues that will inspire each other's work and aesthetics by creating opportunities for cultural exchange. Global Connections-In the Lab: This initiative will award six grants of $10,000 each to further pre-existing international collaborations by supporting residencies that either advance the development of a piece or explore elements leading up to a full production.

CDC, in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Program/Department of AIDS Control, has successfully laid the foundation for quality standards and approaches within India's vast HIV laboratory network through a previous five-year laboratory strengthening funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Many achievements were made during the course of the five-year project period, including accreditation of national and state reference labs. This follow-on FOA is expected to build upon and sustain previous accomplishments through onsite mentoring and in service staff training with an eye to higher quality services and scale up. A plan will be developed to facilitate laboratory quality at the grassroots level for 12,000 + Integrated HIV Testing and Counseling Centers (ICTCs). This shall be done through trainer/mentor creation within the HIV laboratory network to assist peripheral laboratories in implementing minimum quality standards. Given its expanded technical assistance (TA) scope, it is also expected to build the capacity and assure quality in a phased manner for HIV related tests like CD4 enumeration, HIV viral load and STI through strengthening leadership and mentoring capacity within the laboratory network. Now in Phase IV of its HIV/AIDS response, the Government of India (GoI) is keen to address any gaps in testing coverage.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and partners, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, today announced an international program to select up to 50 outstanding early career scientists. The program's aim is to help develop scientific talent worldwide. The program represents a key piece in HHMI's efforts to expand and enhance its support of international scientific research in the life sciences. "We are pleased to be joined in this initiative by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Gulbenkian Foundation," said HHMI President Robert Tjian. "Each organization shares a commitment to building international scientific capacity by identifying and supporting outstanding early career scientists who have the potential to be scientific leaders." HHMI and its partners have committed a total of $37.4 million for the International Research Scholars Program and will award each scientist who is selected a total of $650,000 over five years. The competition is open to scientists who have trained in the U.S. or United Kingdom for at least one year. Additionally, eligible scientists must have run their own labs for less than seven years, and work in one of the eligible countries.

Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcement (NOFO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to support routine laboratory-based surveillance of priority infectious diseases and lab confirmation of outbreaks in India by strengthening laboratory-based surveillance and specimen referral systems. This will involve advocacy and consultation/strategic planning meetings with various national and international stakeholders of human and veterinary sectors; training on routine laboratory-based surveillance and follow up. The identified laboratories should also be trained on biorisk management and safe packaging and referral of specimens using IATA-DGR (International Air Transport Association's Dangerous Goods Regulations).

With PEPFAR support, CDC Haiti works in close collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Health (MSPP) to increase access to quality HIV clinical services, prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and increase laboratory and strategic information capacity. In 2016, CDC Haiti adopted and implemented WHO’s Test and Start strategy, making treatment available to anyone who is HIV positive and reaching 80,000 people – over half of all people living with HIV in Haiti. The CDC program also led the development and implementation of key innovative approaches such as the biometric coding for unique patient identification and patient linkage and retention program. These interventions significantly improved the PEPFAR Haiti program performance. This NOFO aims to build upon these interventions and improve:Service delivery by providing technical assistance in the MSPP network to help strengthen HIV/AIDS-related services through clinical mentoring;Health workforce development by supporting both pre-service and in-service training efforts and working with MSPP in maintaining its national clinical guidelines; andHealth information systems by enhancing the iSanté Plus system, which includes patient care summaries, population-level data dashboards, automated program reports, epidemiological monitoring, and indicator reporting, and is linked to computerized lab results.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement is: To conduct and monitor epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory-based projects, surveillance, and research of important diseases in Liberia. To incorporate the results of research activities into operational disease detection, prevention, and response or control programs in Liberia and ensure the strengthening of local workforce capacity and dissemination of findings across the region, with partners, and globally.