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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 National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities between U.S. and foreign investigators. To realize this goal, the Division of Chemistry at NSF has partnered with the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung  (Austrian Science Fund) of Austria (FWF), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo), Brazil (FAPESP), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (National Agency for Research) of France (ANR), the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NFR), the Fonds National de la Recherche (National Research Fund) of Luxembourg (FNR), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC).  The NSF Division of Chemistry will accept collaborative research proposals in basic research in chemistry, written in English, which establish bilateral collaborations between US investigators and investigators from the countries listed above. 

The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities between U.S. and foreign investigators. To realize this goal, the Division of Chemistry at NSF has partnered with the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Austrian Science Fund) of Austria (FWF), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo), Brazil (FAPESP), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (National Agency for Research) of France (ANR), the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NFR), the Fonds National de la Recherche (National Research Fund) of Luxembourg (FNR), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC). The NSF Division of Chemistry will accept collaborative research proposals in basic research in chemistry, written in English, which establish bilateral collaborations between US investigators and investigators from the countries listed above.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities between U.S. and foreign investigators. To realize this goal, the Division of Chemistry at NSF has partnered with the Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Austrian Science Fund) of Austria (FWF), the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo), Brazil (FAPESP), the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (National Agency for Research) of France (ANR), the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the National Research Foundation of Korea (NFR), the Fonds National de la Recherche (National Research Fund) of Luxembourg (FNR), the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), and the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC). The NSF Division of Chemistry will accept collaborative research proposals in basic research in chemistry, written in English, which establish bilateral collaborations between US investigators and investigators from the countries listed above.

The purpose of this FOA is to provide technical assistance (TA) to the Government of Kenya (GOK) and implementing partners in strengthening their capacity to design and implement systems to collect, analyze, interpret and disseminate high quality HIV data. To achieve this, the awardee(s) will complete activities under the following program areas: Program Area A - Surveillance and Epidemiology: Support the GOK and its partners in strengthening their capacity to design, implement, analyze, disseminate, and use data from epidemiologic studies to adequately and accurately measure outcomes and impact, while informing decision making and policy in the national and sub-national HIV response. Epidemiologic studies will include surveillance, surveys, operations research/implementation science and public health impact evaluations. Program Area B - Monitoring and Evaluation: Strengthen the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) capacity of health workers in program data collection, analysis and reporting as well as cohort analysis and program evaluation. The support will also include review, revision and roll out of M&E framework, tools, policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs), M&E coordination and collaboration at national and sub-national levels and support strengthening quality of HIV data through training and mentorship. Program Area C - mHealth: The third component will entail supporting the GOK units such as the National AIDS and STI Control Program (NASCOP), National Public Health Laboratory Services (NPHLS) and Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA) in mobile technology innovations (mHealth) projects that leverage mobile technologies to enhance efficiencies in the delivery of prevention, care and treatment of HIV.

The purpose of the Health Workforce Improvement Program (HWIP) is to address critical human resources challenges in Ethiopia's health sector. The program will build on the work carried out under the Strengthening Human Resources for Health (HRH) Cooperative Agreement (AID-663-A-12-00008) that was awarded to Jhpiego in 2012. The Health Workforce Improvement Program will work with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MOSHE) at the national level and their respective structures at the sub-national levels (regional, zonal and woreda levels), Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) levels that provide healthcare education at national and sub-national, and targeted health worker professional associations to improve the quality of Ethiopia's health workforce. The focus areas of this Activity are: 1. Institutional and individual capacity building to improve the quality of pre-service education for priority clinical cadres to improve the competency of clinical health workers, 2. Improve the human resource for health management and regulation capacity of national and sub-national entities. The program will target program managers at MOH, Regional Health Bureau (RHB) and District Health Office; and faculty at HEIs, building their leadership, management and governance capacity for human resource development and management. 3. Improve the generation and utilization of evidence to inform HR planning, development and management

AUTHORITY: Grant making authority for the Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII) is contained in the Soviet-Eastern European Research and Training Act of 1983 (22 U.S.C. 4501-4508, as amended). PURPOSE: Congress determined that independently verified factual knowledge about the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia is critical to the national security of the United States, the furtherance of its national interests in the conduct of foreign relations, and the prudent management of its domestic affairs. Congress further concluded that providing a stable and dedicated source of financial support for Title VIII functions supplementing other Federal, State, local, regional, and private sector funding is critical to maintaining this important research and training on a long-term, national scale. The development and maintenance of U.S. expertise on these regions depends upon a national capability for advanced research by highly trained specialists with in-country experience. These specialists are a national resource available for service in and out of Government. In order to guarantee the existence of that knowledge and the capability to sustain it, certain essential functions are necessary, including: a. graduate training; b. advanced research; c. public dissemination of research data, methods, and findings; d. contact and collaboration among Government and private specialists; and e. American specialists? firsthand experience of the countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, including on-site advanced training and research to the extent practicable. For further information or to arrange a consultation, please contact BristolA@state.gov.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Burma and the National Department of Health (NDOH) in Papua New Guinea (PNG) plan to rapidly expand high-quality antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in the coming years by increasing capacity at existing delivery sites and decentralizing selected services to provincial, district and township levels. In order to accomplish this expansion, the MOH and NDOH need strong laboratory systems that ensure high-quality HIV diagnostic and clinical monitoring of patients at the existing and new service delivery sites. This will require strengthening the capacity of Burma's National Health Laboratory (NHL) and Papua New Guinea's Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL), as well as building capacity of sub-national laboratories and improving the laboratory network in these countries.This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) will be awarded to a technical assistance (TA) partner to provide support to NHL and CPHL in several key areas, including: (1) developing and helping implement standard operating procedures, policies, guidelines, and training materials related to management and operations of national and sub-national laboratories; (2) building capacity of NHL and CPHL staff to validate, conduct, and ensure strong (and often cross-cutting) quality assurance and monitoring systems for HIV-related diagnostic and clinical monitoring activities; (3) strengthening the overall laboratory network in Burma and PNG that may include specimen transport and right-sizing of various classes of laboratories; and (4) providing supporting mentoring of NHL and NDOH staff and opportunities for professional development.

The CREATE Program aims to develop a coherent fundamental research program across the five TTCP nations (USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) that demonstrates enhanced mutual reliance (EMR) by leveraging unique research capabilities in the five international partner nations through collaboration. As such the other four other international partner nations and the US Air Force are issuing parallel calls for research at commensurate funding levels.

The CREATE Program aims to develop a coherent fundamental research program across the five TTCP nations (USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) that demonstrates enhanced mutual reliance (EMR) by leveraging unique research capabilities in the five international partner nations through collaboration. As such the other four other international partner nations and the US Air Force are issuing parallel calls for research at commensurate funding levels.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to strengthen capabilities of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and District Health Teams (DHTs) to conduct the following activities: (1) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of HIV program including service quality assessment, (2) district led HIV programming (DLP); (3) conducting population case-based surveillance, and lastly (4) strengthening the Ministry of Health (MOH)-owned national Health Management Information System (HMIS), to generate timely, valid, consistent and complete data. This FOA is part of the PEPFAR overall sustainability plan and transition of HIV/AIDS monitoring and evaluation into the primary national health care system towards alignment to the national HIV/AIDS M&E framework and achievement of one national M&E system. The FOA also supports the PEPFAR implementation of a sustainability plan and investments in public health systems, quality improvement, and public health workforce development. At the end of the project, the main expected outcomes include increased use of information for evidence-based decision making, effective health programming at the district levels, and a well-functioning Health Management Information System. All the data collection and reporting activities will emphasize maintaining patients' and participants' confidentiality by treating information that they disclose in a relationship of trust. All of the information provided by patients/participants will be kept confidential and secure in locked rooms/drawers with limited access. Any data analyses will be conducted after all personal identifying information have been removed from electronic datasets.

The goal of the National Robotics Initiative is to accelerate the development and use of robots in the United States that work beside, or cooperatively with, people. Innovative robotics research and applications emphasizing the realization of such co-robots acting in direct support of and in a symbiotic relationship with human partners is supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The purpose of this program is the development of this next generation of robotics, to advance the capability and usability of such systems and artifacts, and to encourage existing and new communities to focus on innovative application areas. It will address the entire life cycle from fundamental research and development to manufacturing and deployment. Methods for the establishment and infusion of robotics in educational curricula and research to gain a better understanding of the long term social, behavioral and economic implications of co-robots across all areas of human activity are important parts of this initiative. Collaboration between academic, industry, non-profit and other organizations is strongly encouraged to establish better linkages between fundamental science and technology development, deployment and use.O

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to strengthen HIV strategic information (SI) in Senegal through design and implementation of a national HIV case reporting system and other surveillance activities in support of the national Strategic Information (SI) program. This announcement allows for the expansion of existing HIV surveillance activities in Senegal with the following program goals and objectives: * Implementing a round of surveillance among pregnant women attending ANC based on routine prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) program data by 2016 through the evaluating and strengthening the quality of routine PMTCT data and HIV testing. * Supporting the Senegal National AIDS Control Program (CNLS) to establishing a national HIV case surveillance system by 2019 through the strengthening and expansion of the pilot case surveillance system initiated in 2013.

The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan is pleased to announce an open competition for eligible organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to create and broadcast via television and radio a multi-language drama series set a few years in Afghanistan's future showing what could be possible if the nation embraced peace and reconciliation. This cooperative agreement will support the development, production, and television and radio broadcast of a Pashto- and Dari-language television and radio drama series set in Afghanistan's future following successful peace and reconciliation. It will show possibilities for Afghans as individuals, as communities, and as a nation under a lasting peace and reconciliation process. The drama will attempt to foreshadow the positive results of a successful peace reconciliation process: harmony between ethnicities, safe travel between provinces, job creation, economic growth, foreign investment, construction in the capital and provinces, and Afghanistan's role as a peaceful and independent nation on the world stage. Through flashbacks, the drama will also show pivotal times in Afghanistan's history as well as difficult and complex past decisions made by individuals, communities, and the nation that resulted in this peaceful and prosperous future. The series should acknowledge that conflict between characters and groups will remain, but demonstrate how those conflicts are managed peacefully.

The Expeditions Council is an editorially driven grant program that supports exploration and adventure worldwide.  Proposed projects must have the potential to yield compelling stories and images. Applications are also judged on the qualifications of applicants and their teams, and on the project's merit, uniqueness and safety protocols. The Council consists of representatives of National Geographic editorial divisions (magazines, television, books, website, and so on) who review and vote on grant applications, as well as an advisory board of external consultants. While the Expeditions Council funds a broad range of exploration and adventure, if a project is based on scientific inquiry, applicants must provide detailed methodology.  In addition, all projects must adhere to applicable scientific or professional ethical standards, which are outlined in the grant application and are subject to scientific review The Expeditions Council offers its grantees the opportunity to work effectively with National Geographic's many divisions. Grantees are therefore able to share the results of their expeditions with National Geographic's global audience.

The Embassy of the United States of America in Argentina invites proposal submissions for a National Parks Exchange Program, and establishes guidelines for the implementation of the grant. Embassy Buenos Aires would like to further enhance the strong existing links between both national park systems by implementing an exchange program that will address the current challenges that park services are facing in the 21st century. This program will be primarily focused on improving the visitor experience, its sustainability and project management, developing public and educational programming, advisory for national park staff, rangers and guides.

The special programme "Islam, the Modern Nation State and Transnational Movements" is aimed at researchers who, with an eye to current developments, are examining the emergence of political movements in the Islamic world at the national and/or transnational level. Historical studies are encouraged and supported, together with projects in the areas of religious, cultural or political science: What emancipatory, what modern elements does political Islam promise and integrate? What developments, what connections, what similarities in the key categories, interpretations and claims are to be drawn between pan-Arabism and pan-Islamism at the close of the 19th century and the movements of today? What historical self-descriptions are recognizable in the concepts? Via what specific ideas of communalisation can social radicalisation and mobilisation for violence be legitimised? The special programme takes a look at the dynamics between Islamic teachings, Islamism, nationalism and transnational orientations and environments. Scientific discussion of the countries and regions of the Islamic world should bring together expertise possessing regional and thematic focus in order to allow the problems associated with areas of conflict to be expounded upon, particularly with regard to global influences and processes of cultural exchange. Proposals will be supported that address the particularities and contexts of cultural and historical environments and relationships. The projects' deliverables should be able to make a contribution to diverse and expert discussions in public and political circles. Applications are invited for funding research scholarships and research projects. PhD scholarships are only granted in connection with a research project.

Botswana has both a high prevalence of HIV (25% among persons 15-49 years of age) and a high incidence of TB (455 new cases per 100,000 population per year). Drug resistance is a concern with both diseases. High quality surveillance and monitoring data are needed for effective disease control efforts. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) has two primary objectives. Both are meant to support ongoing efforts of the Botswana Ministry of Health (MOH). The first objective is to strengthen the capacity of the TB laboratory and surveillance systems focusing on drug resistance and system integration. The second objective is to a) complete the national rollout of PIMS II (Patient Information Management System) to health care facilities and development of the national data warehouse and b) to support development and implementation of an HIV surveillance strategy at national- and district-levels.

Health centers improve the health of the Nation¿s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by ensuring access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality primary health care services.  Health Center Program grants support a variety of community-based and patient-directed public and private nonprofit organizations that serve an increasing number of the Nation¿s underserved. Individually, each health center plays an important role in the goal of ensuring access to services, and combined, they have had a critical impact on the health care status of medically underserved and vulnerable populations throughout the United States and its territories.  The Health Center Program targets the Nation¿s neediest populations and geographic areas by currently funding approximately 1,300 health centers that operate over 9,000 service delivery sites in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Pacific Basin

Eligibility Requirements: Applicants of non-Japanese nationality; a Doctorate degree; must be 49 years old or under;  not have been in Japan previously; have firm positions and professions in their home nations; etc. Host Institution In Japan: Applicants are free to select host institutions (university research laboratories, national research institutions or the corresponding facilities of private industry) Fellowship Details: Stipend for research and stay, Insurance, Air transportation (a round-trip air ticket to/from Tokyo) and Lump sum on arrival Period & Number of Fellowships: For a period of from three to six months; the number of fellowships is about 20 persons each year.

The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of East Asia Pacific Affairs (EAP) announces an open competition for an environmental award of up to 246,850 to support a local and regional small-scale public health project in the Lower Mekong countries of Southeast Asia. Under the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) EAP and the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES) work together to improve human health thereby promoting economic growth throughout the region. Guided by the specific objectives from the LMI 2016-2020 Master Plan of Action, this project seeks to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) through the development of National AMR Resistance Action Plans. In addition to demonstrating expert knowledge of health challenges, existing programs, and topics related to AMR in the Lower Mekong Region, project applications should address three or more of the following environmental areas of focus: * National AMR programs * Antimicrobial resistance * Public Health: infectious diseases and/or Antimicrobial resistance * Sustainable economic development * Adaptation to changing public health conditions, e.g., endemic and epidemic pathogens * Supporting the One Health Initiative by improving the understanding of disease ecology and the connectedness between human health and the larger ecosystem, strengthening surveillance systems, and bolstering national communication across animal, human, and environmental health sectors. * Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) * World Health Organization's Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance * WHO's International Health Regulations. * Risk management * Evidence-based policy development * Development of new technology for application to environmental health issues Proposed project activities may take place only in following countries: Burma; Cambodia; Laos; Thailand; or Vietnam.