Advancing Global Health (DFOP0017890): How to Apply for State Department Awards of $500K to $250M

Opportunity: Advancing Global Health, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD)
Opportunity number: DFOP0017890
Award range: $500,000 to $250,000,000
Deadline: February 14, 2027 for the APS itself. Each Addendum sets its own deadline, which can be much earlier.
Cost sharing: Not required
Official listing: View DFOP0017890 on Grants.gov

What This Opportunity Is

The Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy has posted an Annual Program Statement (APS) called Advancing Global Health. Awards range from $500,000 to $250,000,000. The range is wide on purpose: the APS covers both a small nonprofit running a targeted pilot and a large consortium working in several countries, as long as the work fits current State Department priorities.

Grants.gov has listed this opportunity number more than once as the notice was updated. Use the official listing linked above and check its posted date and version before you rely on any detail.

How an Annual Program Statement Works

An APS is a standing solicitation, not a single competition. The Bureau does not fund projects through the APS itself. It posts Addenda, each with its own priority area, country or region, requirements and deadline. You respond to a specific Addendum, not to the APS as a whole.

Your first submission is usually a Statement of Interest (SOI), a short preliminary application covering the problem, your approach, your qualifications and a rough budget range. If GHSD wants to see more, it invites a full application. Wait for that invitation before you write a full proposal.

February 14, 2027 is the umbrella date for the APS. Each Addendum can close much earlier, so treat 2027 as a backstop, not a planning target.

The Strategy Projects Must Support

Funded projects must align with the America First Global Health Strategy, which aims to:

• Save lives through targeted health interventions abroad
• Strengthen health systems in partner countries
• Improve the efficiency of U.S. health spending abroad
• Build self-reliance so partner countries can sustain progress
• Make sure U.S. investments benefit American safety, strength and prosperity

The last aim shapes how reviewers read your SOI. Show a clear link between the work overseas and a benefit at home, such as disease surveillance that protects Americans from emerging threats, or capacity building that reduces future U.S. emergency response costs. A purely humanitarian framing will likely need rework.

Who Typically Applies

Check the eligibility section of the official notice and of each Addendum. Organizations that commonly pursue State Department health funding include:

• U.S.-based nonprofits and NGOs with international health programs
• Universities and academic medical centers with global health research or training work
• Public health institutions
• Private sector organizations working on health systems, diagnostics or health technology

GHSD develops Addenda with U.S. Embassies, so existing relationships with embassy health teams, host country ministries of health or local partners are worth describing clearly.

How to Prepare Now

1. Check your SAM.gov registration

Federal awards require an active SAM.gov registration. Renewals can take weeks, so check your expiration date now at sam.gov. Registration is free.

2. Register on Grants.gov

Grants.gov registration depends on an active SAM.gov registration, so start both early. Applying on Grants.gov is free.

3. Map your work to the strategy

List where your current or planned programs connect to each aim above, with outcomes and numbers served. Reviewers want evidence.

4. Pick your country focus

Addenda are usually country or region specific. Focus on places where you already have staff, partners or programs.

5. Build a budget from real costs

Request what the project needs, justified line by line, and use your negotiated indirect cost rate if you have one. Do not treat the award range as a target.

6. Watch for Addenda

Follow DFOP0017890 on Grants.gov so you see each new Addendum when it posts. Addenda can have short response windows.

Common Mistakes

• Sending a full proposal when the Addendum asks for an SOI
• Leaving out the U.S. interest angle
• Waiting for every Addendum before engaging, and missing an early deadline
• Asking for an amount that does not match the project's scale

Track This Opportunity

A free GovGrantsUSA account lets you save DFOP0017890, see how it scores against your organization's profile, and get help drafting your Statement of Interest. You review and submit every application yourself. Create a free account.