Request For Infromation - Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Global Health Security | 72011925RFI00001

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USAID Tajikistan has issued a Request for Information (RFI) titled "Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Global Health Security" (Funding Opportunity Number 72011925RFI00001) to gather market intelligence from organizations that have relevant experience in Tajikistan. This is not a grant solicitation and not a Notice of Funding Opportunity; it is strictly a planning tool for USAID to understand what capable partners exist, what they can do, and how they might contribute to a future Global Health Security (GHS) activity. Submitting a response is voluntary, USAID is not committing to fund anything at this stage, and the agency will not pay for any costs incurred to prepare an RFI response. USAID also notes that if it later decides to proceed, it would publish a formal solicitation (with full requirements and instructions) and interested parties should watch grants.gov and sam.gov for updates.

The program context is USAID Tajikistan's broader Global Health Security work, which is grounded in the "One Health" approach that links human, animal, and environmental health to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks and other health threats. USAID positions this work as aligned with the U.S. Government's 2024 Global Health Security Strategy and as part of USAID's global footprint supporting health security across many countries. The RFI references global health security measurement frameworks such as the World Health Organization Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and SPAR assessments, and it specifically points to the 2019 JEE findings for Tajikistan, which identified potential weaknesses in areas including surveillance, laboratory capacity, infection prevention and control, and risk communication and community engagement (RCCE). USAID is signaling that RCCE is a priority gap it wants to address as it considers the design of a future activity.

The likely technical direction of a prospective activity is centered on strengthening RCCE systems so that communication during outbreaks or other health emergencies is timely, trustworthy, community-centered, and actionable. USAID indicates that possible focus areas include developing community-centered risk communication strategies; strengthening networks that support engagement during crises; working with religious leaders to promote health and serve as advocates; supporting health and emergency communication infrastructure; and building local capacity so communities have better awareness of health risks and can manage them more effectively. In practical terms, this points to work such as improving coordination among communicators, creating and testing messages and channels that people actually use, setting up feedback loops so rumors and concerns are identified quickly, and building partnerships that help communication reach different groups, including through trusted community and faith-based figures.

USAID is open to hearing from a wide range of entity types, including non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, academic or research organizations, and other groups with relevant experience in Tajikistan. The RFI is especially interested in organizations that can demonstrate strengths in one or more of these areas: risk communication and health information dissemination; community engagement approaches during health emergencies; experience working in Tajikistan and with local counterparts (local government, civil society, health organizations, and religious leaders); and experience managing international partnerships or collaborations. Importantly, organizations are not expected to answer every question; USAID explicitly invites respondents to focus only on the areas where they have real capacity and experience.

On the submission side, responses must be electronic and can be provided as a Word document, PDF, or directly in the body of an email. USAID sets a strict length limit of no more than seven pages total, including annexes, and allows submissions in English, Tajik, or Russian. Respondents are asked to include basic organizational details (name, contact information, principal place of business) and to describe their relevant Tajikistan experience. The RFI also includes a short questionnaire-style set of prompts covering organizational type (NGO, academic, private sector, other), whether the organization has received USAID funding in the last five years and in what capacity (prime vs. sub), operating languages (Tajik, Russian, English, Uzbek, etc.), RCCE experience related to global health security, and past partnerships in Tajikistan.

Responses are due no later than January 10, 2025; late submissions will not be considered. USAID instructs respondents not to submit technical proposals or cost applications at this stage, since this is not an application process. Submissions should be emailed to Denis Arvanitidi at darvanitidi@usaid.gov and Kinsy Hood at khood@usaid.gov, using the subject line "72011925RFI00001 - Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Global Health Security." USAID also plans to host online informational sessions in Russian, Tajik, and English for interested parties, with RSVP requests directed to skholov@usaid.gov. The English version of the RFI is the controlling version if translations differ.

• The Tajikistan USAID-Dushanbe in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Request For Infromation - Risk Communication and Community Engagement in Global Health Security" 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 2024-12-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-10. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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