Advancing Infectious Disease Detection and Response in Nigeria | RFA GH 19 010

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA GH 19 010

The grant opportunity titled "Advancing Infectious Disease Detection and Response in Nigeria" (Funding Opportunity Number RFA GH 19 010) is a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funding announcement designed to support high-quality public health research focused specifically on Nigeria. It is offered as a cooperative agreement, which usually means the CDC expects to have an active partnership role during the project period (for example, providing technical input, collaborating on methods, or helping align work with public health priorities), rather than functioning as a hands-off funder.

At its core, the NOFO aims to strengthen how infectious diseases are detected, tracked, studied, and responded to in Nigeria by funding research that is directly relevant to real-world public health operations. The announcement is broad in terms of allowable research designs, explicitly welcoming quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods epidemiological studies. It also emphasizes research that spans epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory-based work, along with surveillance activities. In practical terms, this points to projects that might combine field investigation and data analysis with clinical characterization and laboratory confirmation, and that could generate evidence useful for improving surveillance systems and outbreak response practices.

The scope of diseases and public health threats included is intentionally wide, reflecting Nigeria's diverse infectious disease risks and the need for adaptable detection and response capacity. Priority areas mentioned include acute febrile illness, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, zoonotic diseases, and vector-borne diseases. The opportunity also calls out environmental health factors that influence infectious disease transmission, such as water and air-related issues, signaling that projects can examine how environmental exposures and infrastructure contribute to outbreak risk. Vaccine-preventable diseases are another key focus, which can include research related to immunization coverage gaps, outbreak investigation, program performance, and strategies that improve vaccine impact. The NOFO also highlights biosafety and biosecurity, suggesting interest in work that improves safe handling of pathogens, strengthens laboratory safety systems, and reduces risks associated with infectious agents. Beyond these areas, the announcement explicitly includes antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated (hospital-acquired) infections, respiratory infections and influenza, and enteric illnesses, while leaving room for other locally important threats.

A major theme running through the announcement is translation of research into action. Applicants are expected not only to generate findings, but to present clear, credible plans for incorporating results into operational disease detection, prevention, and response or control programs in Nigeria. That means the CDC is looking for projects with a practical pathway from study outputs to program improvements, such as updated surveillance protocols, improved diagnostic or reporting workflows, better outbreak investigation strategies, strengthened infection prevention measures, or targeted interventions informed by local data. In other words, the research is meant to be more than academic; it should be built to inform and improve public health decision-making and on-the-ground practice.

Workforce strengthening is also a required consideration. The NOFO stresses strengthening local capacity, which typically implies developing skills among Nigerian public health professionals through training, mentorship, involvement in study design and analysis, laboratory skill-building, surveillance strengthening, or integration with existing national and subnational public health institutions. Alongside capacity building, dissemination is treated as a core deliverable: applicants should plan to share findings across the region, with partners, and globally. This can include sharing results with Nigerian public health authorities and implementing partners, presenting to regional networks, and publishing or otherwise communicating results so they can inform broader infectious disease control efforts.

In terms of funding structure and timing, the award is listed with an award ceiling of $1,000,000 and an expectation of one award. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and falls under the health activity category, with CFDA number 93.326. The original posting date is December 21, 2018, with an original closing date of February 21, 2019, and electronic applications due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility text, which generally means applicants would need to consult the complete announcement for the precise eligible organization types and any partnership or geographic requirements.

Overall, this NOFO is structured to fund a single, substantial research effort (or a coordinated set of research activities under one award) that can produce rigorous evidence while also measurably improving Nigeria's infectious disease surveillance and response capabilities. It prioritizes studies that connect epidemiology, clinical insight, laboratory systems, and surveillance with implementation-focused plans, while investing in local expertise and ensuring that lessons learned are shared beyond the immediate project setting.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advancing Infectious Disease Detection and Response in Nigeria" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.326.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 21, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 21, 2019 Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 500 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.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for RFA GH 19 010

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: