OpportunityTitle: Strengthening Local Capacity to develop and Implement Open Source Blood Safety and Laboratory Information Systems in Resource-limited Countries Supported by the President&apos;s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: Eligible applicants that can apply for this FOA are listed below:    Government Organizations:  &#149; National Ministries of Health  &#149; State and local governments or their Bona Fide Agents (this includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau)  .   &#149; American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments (federally recognized or state-recognized)  &#149; Political subdivisions of States (in consultation with States)    Non-government Organizations:  &#149; American Indian/Alaska native tribally designated organizations  &#149; Alaska Native health corporations  &#149; Tribal epidemiology centers  &#149; Urban Indian health organizations  &#149; Nonprofit with 501C3 IRS status (other than institution of higher education)  &#149; Nonprofit without 501C3 IRS status (other than institution of higher education)  &#149; Research institutions (that will perform activities deemed as non-research)    Colleges and Universities    Community-based organizations    Faith-based organizations    For-profit organizations (other than small business)    Hospitals    Small, minority, and women-owned businesses    All Other eligible organizations
Description: The development, implementation, and support of quality management systems across clinical, laboratory and healthcare management services is a core element of PEPFAR&#146;s long-term quality strategy for supported countries. The accreditation of laboratories is a &#147;foundational&#148; component of this strategy, which applies to facilities engaged in HIV diagnostics, as well as blood service labs engaged in HIV and other infectious disease screening, and the preparation of blood components for transfusion. Information systems that facilitate the rapid capture, management and analysis of information generated by a laboratory&#146;s or blood service&#146;s routine operations are an essential tool for laboratories seeking accreditation. However, the costs associated with procuring, installing and maintaining electronic information systems have historically been barrier to access for laboratories and blood services in sub-Saharan Africa (and other developing regions). As a result, many blood services and laboratory systems in Africa and other resource-limited settings rely on sub-optimal paper-based systems, or limited electronic systems that are unable to capture and trace information (forward and backwards) through every link in the blood service or laboratory value chain. For blood services this means the ability to trace a unit of blood and related information from the blood donor to the transfusion recipient; for a laboratory this means the ability to trace specimens and related information from the collection point back to the physician providing care to the patient who provided the specimen.To address this gap, PEPFAR is supporting the development and implementation of lower-cost, quality assured information systems based on open source technologies. To promote the sustainability of this initiative, PEPFAR and CDC seek to fund an organization with experience in open source software development and implementation to provide such support to PEPFAR supported countries.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: PGO TIM
GrantorContactText: CDC Procurement and Grants Office  &lt;br/&gt;Technical In formation Management Section &lt;br/&gt;Phone 770-488-2700