Strengthening Quality of Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment in Ethiopia | RFA 663 17 000003

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA 663 17 000003

The grant opportunity titled "Strengthening Quality of Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment in Ethiopia" is a USAID/Ethiopia-funded cooperative agreement focused on improving the standard of malaria case management in health facilities supported by the project. The core, measurable aim is to raise the quality of malaria diagnosis and treatment services in these facilities to a level of 85 (from the baseline level measured at the start of the activity). In practical terms, the opportunity is designed to address both the technical side of malaria diagnosis and treatment and the system-level conditions that determine whether health workers can consistently deliver accurate testing, correct treatment, and appropriate follow-up.

The activity is organized around four main objectives. First, it seeks to strengthen partnerships and coordination at national and regional levels, which typically involves improving how government bodies, regional health bureaus, implementing partners, and other stakeholders align priorities, share data, and coordinate supervision and support. This objective emphasizes that quality improvement is not only a facility-level issue; it depends heavily on clear roles, consistent guidance, and coordinated planning across different layers of the health system.

Second, the opportunity prioritizes strengthening and scaling up quality assurance (QA) systems for malaria diagnosis and treatment. QA in this context generally includes standardizing and monitoring diagnostic practices (for example, microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests), ensuring adherence to national case management guidelines, improving supervision and mentorship, supporting proficiency testing and external quality assessment approaches, and reinforcing routine use of data to identify performance gaps. The intent is to move beyond one-time trainings or isolated improvements and instead build repeatable systems that reliably maintain high performance over time and across locations.

Third, the grant targets practical improvements in infrastructure and human resources to support malaria diagnosis and case management. The infrastructure component is described as minor renovation, which suggests modest facility upgrades that remove barriers to quality services, such as improving the physical setup of laboratories, patient flow areas, storage conditions for commodities, or other enabling environments needed for safe and accurate diagnosis and treatment. In parallel, it supports building human resource capacity, which can include developing the skills of clinicians, laboratory personnel, and supervisors; improving on-the-job performance through mentorship; and strengthening facility teams so they can apply guidelines correctly and consistently, even when staff turnover or workload pressures are present.

Fourth, the activity calls for enhanced program learning and operational research to influence policy and programming related to malaria case management. This indicates an expectation that the implementer will not only deliver services but also generate evidence about what works best in the Ethiopian context. Operational research and structured learning can help identify bottlenecks (such as diagnostic errors, stock management challenges, or adherence issues), test solutions, and translate findings into recommendations that inform national or regional guidance, training approaches, and resource allocation.

A key feature of the award is that it will be implemented using the principles of Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA). This means the project is expected to emphasize ongoing collaboration with stakeholders, routine learning from implementation experience and data, and active adaptation of strategies as conditions change or as evidence emerges. The award language also indicates flexibility: activities that align with CLA principles and contribute to the four objectives and related results can be included, as long as they fit within the agreement's planning requirements and provisions. In effect, the opportunity supports an iterative approach to quality improvement rather than a fixed, one-size-fits-all implementation plan.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), specifically USAID Addis Ababa under USAID/Ethiopia. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the funding agency during implementation compared to a standard grant. The opportunity is listed under the health funding activity category with CFDA number 98.001. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications contained in the full announcement. The opportunity was created on July 18, 2017, with an original closing date of September 13, 2017. USAID anticipated making one award, with an award ceiling of $25,000,000, indicating a single, sizable project intended to operate at meaningful scale and potentially influence national practice through coordinated systems strengthening and evidence generation.

• The Agency for International Development, Ethiopia USAID-Addis Ababa in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening Quality of Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment in Ethiopia" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 18, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 13, 2017. (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 $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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