Surveillance and Response to Avian and Pandemic Influenza by National Health Authorities Outside the United States | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the name of this funding opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "Surveillance and Response to Avian and Pandemic Influenza by National Health Authorities Outside the United States."

2) What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?

The Funding Opportunity Number is CDC RFA IP16 1603.

3) What type of award is this?

This is a CDC cooperative agreement. That structure typically means CDC is expected to have substantial involvement and collaboration with recipients during project implementation rather than operating as a purely hands-off funder.

4) Which agency is offering the award?

The awarding agency is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

5) Which CDC center is associated with this program?

The program is associated with CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).

6) What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed is 93.318.

7) What is the main purpose of this cooperative agreement?

The overall aim is to strengthen influenza preparedness and response capacity in countries outside the United States by improving routine influenza surveillance, enabling earlier outbreak detection, better threat characterization, and faster response when pandemic influenza or highly pathogenic strains begin to spread.

8) Who is the intended applicant?

The intended applicants are foreign governments, specifically through Ministries of Health or other ministries responsible for human health and public health emergency preparedness.

9) Is this opportunity for applicants inside the United States?

No. The announcement is designed for national health authorities outside the United States.

10) How much total funding is available under this announcement?

The total funding amount is about 4,000,000 USD.

11) How many awards does CDC expect to make?

The announcement anticipates approximately 10 awards.

12) What is the expected award size per recipient?

The average and maximum award size is approximately 400,000 USD per recipient.

13) What does the program expect applicants to build on?

Proposals are expected to build on existing in-country infrastructure, such as current surveillance sites, public health laboratories, reporting systems, and established partnerships with hospitals and clinics.

14) Does the opportunity fund building entirely new systems from scratch?

The intent is to accelerate progress rather than create entirely new systems. Applicants are expected to show how they will upgrade and extend ongoing work rather than reinvent it.

15) What kinds of countries are prioritized?

The competition expresses a preference for countries with limited resources and weaker influenza surveillance capacity, particularly where surveillance is not well-established and where governments have identified gaps in pandemic preparedness.

16) What needs or gaps does CDC want applicants to address?

Applicants are expected to focus on improving surveillance for seasonal influenza and novel strains in humans or animals, and to strengthen preparedness where gaps in pandemic readiness have been identified.

17) What external factors may influence priority or preference?

Preference may be influenced by outbreak risk assessments made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and by the World Health Organization (WHO) Secretariat, especially in locations where emerging influenza threats could plausibly appear or spread.

18) What are the main intents or focus areas described in the announcement?

The program highlights three main intents: (1) support routine influenza surveillance while building operational response capacity to contain highly pathogenic influenza viruses that can transmit among humans; (2) develop and reinforce epidemiologic and virologic capacity and related technical capabilities to detect threats, respond appropriately, and monitor viral changes over time (including the ability to identify and investigate outbreaks of severe respiratory illness syndromes); and (3) strengthen connections among national institutions across countries, especially National Influenza Centers, to support participation in the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), including readiness to share specimens and clinical/epidemiologic data.

19) What does "routine influenza surveillance" mean in the context of this program?

In this announcement, routine influenza surveillance is framed as the ongoing detection and monitoring needed to identify outbreaks earlier, characterize threats more accurately, and enable faster public health response when dangerous strains emerge.

20) What capacities does the program aim to strengthen for outbreak detection and response?

The announcement emphasizes strengthening the full chain of detection and response, including case finding and reporting, confirmation, situational awareness, and real-world public health action when a highly pathogenic or pandemic-capable influenza strain is identified.

21) What technical capacities are specifically emphasized?

The program specifically emphasizes epidemiologic and virologic capacity, along with related technical capabilities to detect influenza threats, respond appropriately, and monitor how viruses change over time.

22) Why does the announcement mention severe respiratory illness syndromes?

It notes improving the ability to identify and investigate outbreaks of severe respiratory illness syndromes because these can serve as an early signal for unusual or dangerous influenza activity.

23) What is GISRS and why is it relevant here?

GISRS refers to the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System. This program emphasizes strengthening national institutions (especially National Influenza Centers) so they can participate more fully, including sharing specimens and clinical/epidemiologic data to support global situational awareness, risk assessment, and vaccine strain selection.

24) What kinds of sharing does the program highlight?

The program highlights improving a country's ability and readiness to share specimens and to share clinical and epidemiologic data as part of global surveillance and response coordination.

25) What is the "activity area" or category for this opportunity?

The listing categorizes the opportunity under the health funding activity area.

26) When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

The listing indicates the opportunity was posted on May 17, 2016, and had a closing date of July 18, 2016.

27) How is eligibility described in the administrative listing?

Eligibility is described broadly as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," while the narrative specifies the intended applicants are foreign national authorities acting through relevant government ministries responsible for public health and emergency preparedness.

28) What policy frameworks does the program align with?

The opportunity is framed as aligning with major U.S. and international policy frameworks, including the HHS Pandemic Influenza Operational Plan, the President's National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, and the principles of the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza.

29) Why does CDC frame this work as important to the United States?

The announcement explicitly ties the program to NCIRD's performance goal of protecting Americans from infectious diseases, reflecting the idea that strengthening surveillance abroad can improve early detection and containment of threats before they spread internationally.