Strengthening global health security through local partnerships in Uganda

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through its Global Health Center and Division of Global Health Protection, is offering a cooperative agreement funding opportunity titled Strengthening global health security through local partnerships in Uganda. This initiative is designed to support the United States Government’s broader global health security agenda by strengthening public health systems in partner countries, with a specific focus on Uganda. The CDC’s role as a global leader in disease prevention and response underpins this program, which aims to enhance preparedness, early detection, and rapid containment of infectious disease threats that could impact both Uganda and the United States. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to expand Uganda’s capacity to respond effectively and efficiently to public health threats by addressing gaps identified in the 2023 Joint External Evaluation of the country’s global health security capabilities. The program targets critical areas including health emergency management, workforce development, laboratory systems, and disease surveillance. Activities are aligned with Uganda’s National Action Plan for Health Security and emphasize strengthening national systems, improving cross-sector coordination, and ensuring rapid response to outbreaks. The initiative also supports border health programs, real-time emergency funding mechanisms, and implementation of integrated surveillance systems using a One Health approach. Funding is provided through a cooperative agreement structure, with an expected total of fifteen million dollars available in the first year across one to three awards. Projects are expected to span five years, divided into five twelve month budget periods. The funding model uses a component based structure, requiring applicants to propose activities across multiple components, including core global health security priorities and scalable response efforts for varying levels of public health emergencies. While only core activities may be funded initially, additional components may be approved and funded later based on availability and need. Component funding ceilings range from five million to twenty million dollars depending on the scale and nature of the response activities. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad and includes domestic and international entities such as government agencies at all levels, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with or without tax exempt status, for profit entities, and foreign organizations. Applicants must implement activities within Uganda and demonstrate the capacity to coordinate with national and local stakeholders. The program does not allow research activities and prohibits the use of funds for clinical care except where explicitly authorized. There is no requirement for cost sharing or matching funds, although voluntary contributions must be reported if included. Applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov by August 14, 2026, at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Applicants are required to complete registration with both SAM.gov and Grants.gov prior to submission. The application package includes a project narrative, budget narrative, and supporting attachments such as organizational capacity documentation and evaluation plans. The project narrative must not exceed sixty pages and must address specific evaluation criteria including background and approach, evaluation and performance measurement, and organizational capacity. Applications will undergo an initial responsiveness review followed by a merit based evaluation scored across three primary criteria totaling one hundred points. Additional consideration is given to local partner organizations, which may receive extra points if they meet defined criteria. Successful applicants are expected to collaborate with CDC and other partners, implement monitoring and evaluation systems, and report on performance indicators throughout the project lifecycle. Awards are anticipated by the end of September 2026, with notification of application status expected by the end of August 2026. The program is not explicitly stated as recurring, but it builds on previous CDC initiatives, indicating potential continuity in future funding cycles.

Align proposal closely with CDC global health priorities; demonstrate measurable outcomes and strong evaluation plan; ensure compliance with all formatting and component requirements; emphasize local partnerships and capacity building