Health Workforce Improvement Program (HWIP) | 72066319RFA00005

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72066319RFA00005

The Health Workforce Improvement Program (HWIP) is a USAID-funded cooperative agreement designed to tackle major human resources for health gaps in Ethiopia by strengthening the systems that produce, manage, and support the country s health workforce. The activity is explicitly framed as a continuation and expansion of earlier investments made under the Strengthening Human Resources for Health (HRH) Cooperative Agreement (AID-663-A-12-00008) that began in 2012, meaning it is meant to build on existing reforms, relationships, and lessons learned rather than starting from scratch. Overall, the program centers on improving the quality of Ethiopia s health workforce by working with the key government bodies responsible for health service delivery and higher education, along with training institutions and professional associations.

Implementation is intended to be tightly aligned with government priorities and carried out in close collaboration with Ethiopia s Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MOSHE). HWIP is structured to operate not only at the national level but also through the full administrative chain where workforce decisions and training outcomes are felt in practice: regional, zonal, and woreda levels. In addition, the program engages Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) that provide health professional education across the country, as well as selected health worker professional associations that influence standards, professional development, and regulation. This broad engagement reflects an understanding that workforce challenges are rarely solved by training alone; they also depend on governance, regulation, deployment, supervision, and data-driven planning.

The opportunity lays out three main technical focus areas. First, HWIP prioritizes institutional and individual capacity building aimed at improving the quality of pre-service education for priority clinical cadres. The intent here is to strengthen the pipeline of new health professionals by improving how clinicians are trained before they enter the workforce, with an emphasis on competency, practical skills, and overall readiness to deliver quality care. While the specific cadres are not listed in the summary text, the language suggests a focus on clinical roles that are essential to service delivery and where competency gaps have a direct effect on patient outcomes. Work in this area commonly involves strengthening curricula, teaching methods, clinical practice opportunities, assessment systems, and faculty development so graduates meet consistent standards.

Second, the program focuses on improving human resources for health management and regulation capacity at both national and sub-national levels. This component targets the systems and institutions that govern the workforce: planning, recruitment, deployment, performance management, retention strategies, and regulatory functions tied to standards and oversight. A key target group includes program managers within the MOH, Regional Health Bureaus (RHBs), and District Health Offices, along with HEI faculty who play important leadership roles in training and human resource development. The emphasis on leadership, management, and governance suggests HWIP is expected to strengthen not just technical HR functions, but also the decision-making and accountability structures that allow HR systems to function effectively over time.

Third, HWIP aims to improve the generation and use of evidence to guide HR planning, development, and management. This focus area is about strengthening the data and analytical capacity needed to make workforce decisions based on real needs rather than assumptions. In practical terms, this can include improving routine workforce information, enhancing the ability to analyze staffing gaps and distribution, understanding training outputs versus labor market demand, and ensuring that evidence is actually used by managers and policymakers. By emphasizing utilization, the program signals that better data alone is not enough; the goal is to embed evidence into planning cycles and operational decisions at multiple levels of the system.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued by USAID Ethiopia (USAID Addis Ababa) under Funding Opportunity Number 72066319RFA00005. The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, which typically means substantial involvement by the funding agency in implementation direction, coordination, and oversight compared to a more hands-off grant. Eligible applicants are listed as unrestricted, indicating broad organizational eligibility as long as applicants can meet the solicitation requirements. The total award ceiling is listed as USD 39,500,000, with the original closing date of 2019-10-18 and a creation date of 2019-08-28. The program is categorized under Health, with CFDA number 98.001. For full requirements, deliverables, and selection criteria, applicants are directed to consult the NOFO.

• The Ethiopia USAID-Addis Ababa in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Health Workforce Improvement Program (HWIP)" 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 2019-08-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-10-18. (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 $39,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

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