Technical Support to Improve Global Health Security (FHI 360)(Closing: Oct 13)

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To: Prospective organizations
From: FHI360 STRIDES PROJECT TEAM
Contract Title: Technical Support to Improve Global Health Security Systems
Location: Haiti
Date Issued: August 29, 2025
Questions due: September 5, 2025, 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time
Responses Posted: September 10, 2025, 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time
Submission Deadline: October 13, 2025, 23:59 Eastern Daylight Time
Submission Email: STRIDESProcurement@fhi360.org

INTRODUCTION
Infectious diseases remain one of the most serious threats to global health security. In today’s
interconnected world, diseases can spread from a remote village to major cities across
continents in a matter of hours. Factors such as increased international travel and trade, rapid
urbanization, population growth and movement, and weak health systems heighten the risk of
emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks. These threats not only endanger lives
but also disrupt economies and undermine both national and global security. The U.S.
Department of State, through its Global Health Security (GHS) initiatives, is committed to
supporting partner countries in strengthening their capacities to prevent, detect, and respond
to infectious disease threats at their source.

The STRengthening Infectious disease DEtection Systems (STRIDES) Activity builds upon the U.S.
government’s GHS and other global health investments to enhance diagnostic networks and
surveillance capabilities in partner countries. Through STRIDES, the United States extends its
support for life-saving activities to address the urgent need to improve infectious disease
detection, surveillance, and data systems for priority diseases that pose public health risks for
outbreaks, while also providing emergency response support when outbreaks occur. By
strengthening a country’s detection systems and driving them to meet international quality and
safety standards, STRIDES aims to halt outbreaks before they spread by supporting human and
animal health systems to provide quality, sustainable services. STRIDES also advances crosssectoral efforts to identify, manage, and respond to infectious disease threats; detect and
prevent further outbreaks; and build trust in a country’s disease detection and surveillance
structures.

FHI 360 is the implementing partner for the STRIDES Activity and is responsible for delivering
technical support and capacity-building efforts under this initiative. To achieve the objectives of
STRIDES in Haiti, FHI 360 is issuing this Request for Proposals (RFP) to identify and contract with
a qualified local organization. The selected organization will provide technical support services
aimed at strengthening infectious disease detection systems, working closely with national and
local partners to improve early detection, reporting, and surveillance of infectious disease
threats. This partnership will contribute to building sustainable, measurable capacity, advancing
innovative and evidence-based solutions, and fostering local ownership to ensure long-term
improvements in Haiti ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
Project Overview: STRIDES Activity in Haiti
Haiti, the most populous nation in the Caribbean after Cuba and the Dominican Republic, faces
persistent vulnerabilities to infectious disease threats due to dense urbanization in Port-auPrince and other cities, high levels of internal displacement, porous land and sea borders, and
fragile ecosystems that heighten risks of spillover at the human-animal interface. The country
continues to contend with recurrent and emerging health emergencies—including COVID-19,
cholera, chikungunya, dengue, rabies, and malaria—while also managing the ongoing burden of
tuberculosis and HIV. These pressures stretch already limited resources and expose systemic
gaps in health system resilience. Recurrent hurricanes, flooding, and weak water, sanitation and
hygiene (WASH) infrastructure further amplify risks, underscoring the importance of
strengthening global health security capacities across prevention, detection, and response.

In recent years, investments by the U.S. Government (USG) through the Global Health Security
Agenda (GHSA), in partnership with other development actors, have supported the
establishment of a national cross-sectoral coordination mechanism, including representation
from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture, and others. Although still evolving, this
platform has fostered collaboration across human and animal health sectors, enabling more
coordinated responses to outbreak of cholera, rabies, leptospirosis, and other zoonotic
diseases. Despite these gains, the 2022 Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and the National Health
Policy (Politique Nationale de Sante, 2021-2030) highlight significant gaps. These include
weaknesses in surveillance and event reporting, limited workforce capacity for outbreak
investigation, the absence of a robust national laboratory network linking human and animal
health, insufficient data management and health information systems, and under-resourced
rapid response capacities.
Compounding these health system challenges, Haiti’s ongoing political instability, gang-related
violence, and civil unrest directly undermine GHS progress. Insecurity limits access to health
facilities, disrupts supply chains for essential outbreak commodities, displaces health workers,
and hampers the ability of rapid response teams to investigate and contain outbreaks. Conflict
and instability also erode trust between communities and authorities, complicating community
engagement efforts. Together, these factors reduce the country’s capacity to prevent, detect,
and respond effectively to infectious disease threats, increasing the risk of uncontrolled
epidemics with cross-border implications.

To address these challenges, USG and partners have prioritized technical support in laboratory
strengthening, workforce development, surveillance, and zoonotic disease control. However,
systemic bottlenecks remain, including fragmented event-based and community-based
surveillance systems; underdeveloped laboratory quality management and
biosafety/biosecurity practices; and fragile supply chains for outbreak response commodities.
Strengthening Haiti’s GHS core capacities will require targeted, locally led, cross-sectoral,
integrated approaches that reinforce surveillance-laboratory-response linkages and
institutionalize data-driven decision-making. Such investments will accelerate early detection,
improve coordinated response, and safeguard both national stability and regional security.
Against this backdrop, the Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems (STRIDES)
activity seeks to provide technical support and build sustainable national and local capacity for
infectious disease surveillance, detection, and response in Haiti. The Activity will:
• Strengthen event-based and indicator-based surveillance systems to rapidly detect
outbreaks of public health significance;
• Enhance data collection, analysis, and reporting to inform timely decision-making on
zoonotic disease prevention and response;
• Provide targeted technical support during outbreaks; and
• Improve knowledge, attitudes, and practices among health personnel and communities
to reduce the burden of zoonotic diseases.

As part of the U.S. government’s Global Health Security (GHS) response, the STRIDES activity
plays a key role in Haiti. STRIDES is designed to improve disease detection, surveillance, data
collection, analysis, and reporting systems in partner countries. It addresses critical gaps in
national and subnational surveillance and diagnostic systems that limit countries’ ability to
prevent, detect, report, and respond effectively to epidemics, pandemics, and emerging
infectious disease threats that pose risks to global and U.S. national security. By strengthening
these systems and aligning them with international quality and safety standards, STRIDES helps
halt outbreaks at their source and supports the delivery of quality, sustainable services through
both human and animal health systems. In Haiti, STRIDES aims to protect the health of millions
while contributing to global health security by improving the country’s capacity to detect and
manage outbreaks.

This RFP invites qualified contractors to partner with the Government of Haiti, including the
MSPP and MARNDR, and to work closely with stakeholders across the human and animal health
sectors. The selected partner will prioritize shifting power to local actors—ensuring that health
managers, veterinarians, and community actors are engaged as core implementers—and
strengthen national systems across all ten departments of Haiti to build a resilient, qualityassured health security framework.

Technical description of work to be performed:
4
Scope of Work
FHI 360, under the Strengthening Infectious Disease Detection Systems (STRIDES) Activity, seeks
a qualified contractor to provide technical support and capacity strengthening in support of
improved infectious disease detection and surveillance in Haiti. The overall aim is to strengthen
national and subnational capacity to detect, prevent, and respond to infectious disease threats
through support for laboratory systems, surveillance, multisectoral coordination, and data use
for decision-making. IMPORTANT: Applicants MAY offer a proposal and budget for some or all
of the objectives below based on their capabilities and experience. Consortium applications
for one or all of the objectives below are not encouraged. The successful contractor(s) will be
responsible for designing, implementing, and delivering a comprehensive package of technical
support in partnership with the Government of Haiti and other national stakeholders.

The successful contractor(s) scope of work will encompass the following technical areas:
1. Surveillance System Strengthening

Event-Based and Indicator-Based Surveillance (EBS/IBS): Provide technical support to
design, strengthen, and operationalize integrated human and animal health surveillance
systems capable of detecting priority zoonotic and infectious diseases across all 10
departments of Haiti.
• System Interoperability: Enhance linkages between human health and animal health
surveillance systems, ensuring alignment with global health security frameworks and
national reporting requirements.
• Early Warning and Rapid Response: Strengthen mechanisms for timely reporting,
analysis, and escalation of public health threats to facilitate rapid response at local and
national levels.

2. Data Systems, Analytics, and Reporting
• Data Collection and Quality Assurance: Support the adoption of standardized data
collection tools and methods for disease human and animal health surveillance,
including digital solutions where feasible.
• Data Analysis and Use: Build the capacity of national and departmental teams to
analyze surveillance data for actionable insights, trend monitoring, and a more rapid
and effective response.
• Information Sharing: Strengthen reporting pipelines from local to national levels and
improve communication between MSPP, MARNDR, and regional stakeholders.

3. Outbreak Detection and Response Support
• Technical Support During Outbreaks: Provide on-demand surge support to MSPP,
MARNDR, and departmental health authorities during outbreak investigations and
responses.
Preparedness Tools: Refine standard operating procedures (SOPs), protocols, and job
aids to guide outbreak detection, case investigation, adoption of the 7-1-7 to improve
outbreak detection, reporting, and response.
• Simulation Exercises: Support the design and implementation of tabletop and fieldbased simulation exercises to test and improve national and departmental outbreak
response capabilities.

4. Capacity Strengthening and Training
• Workforce Development: Adapt, update, and deliver tailored training modules for
healthcare workers, veterinarians, laboratory staff, and community health actors on
zoonotic disease surveillance, biosafety, and outbreak investigation.
• Mentorship and On-the-Job Support: Provide structured mentorship and technical
accompaniment to MSPP and MARNDR staff to build sustained technical and managerial
competencies.

5. Cross-Sectoral and Community Collaboration
• Integrated Approach: Facilitate coordination and collaboration across human and
animal health sectors for integrated disease detection and response.
• Local Actor Engagement: Promote meaningful participation of local government
officials, civil society organizations, veterinarians, community leaders, and other actors
in planning and implementing surveillance and outbreak response activities.

6. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)
• Performance Monitoring: Develop and apply monitoring indicators and frameworks to
track progress of technical support and training activities.
• Learning and Adaptation: Document best practices, lessons learned, and success stories
to inform adaptive management of the STRIDES Haiti program and share knowledge
with national and regional partners.
• Reporting: Provide timely reports to FHI 360 on activities, achievements, challenges,
and recommendations

To view more information and the proposed timeline for the output activities, click here: https://solicitations.fhi360.org/Files/Tender%20for%20GHS%20Haiti%208%2022%202025%20final_638920544879451073.pdf

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