Interventions to Address HIV-Related Comorbidities among Highly Affected Populations Experiencing Health Disparities (R01 - Clinical Trial Required) | RFA MD 24 003

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA MD 24 003

This NIH funding opportunity (RFA-MD-24-003) is a discretionary R01 grant that requires a clinical trial and is focused on intervention research for people living with HIV who are also dealing with HIV-associated, non-AIDS comorbidities. The central goal is to improve quality of life and support successful aging across the life course, with a specific emphasis on populations that are highly affected by HIV and experience health disparities, particularly racial and ethnic minority groups and people with lower socioeconomic status. In practice, the announcement is looking for projects that move beyond single-level solutions by developing and testing multilevel, multidisciplinary interventions that can address the real-world mix of medical, behavioral, and social factors that shape comorbidity burden and aging outcomes in people with HIV.

The opportunity is aimed at research that recognizes how non-AIDS comorbidities increasingly drive illness and reduced quality of life among people with HIV, especially as life expectancy has improved. While the notice does not list specific comorbidities in the excerpt provided, the framing clearly points to conditions that commonly cluster with HIV over time and interact with HIV treatment and long-term inflammation, as well as with structural barriers to care. The intent is to support interventions that are relevant across different stages of life (not just older adulthood) and that can measurably improve outcomes connected to well-being and functional health, not merely viral suppression. Because it is “multilevel,” strong applications are typically expected to act at more than one layer at once, for example combining patient-level supports (like symptom management, adherence support, mental health or substance use services) with provider-level changes (like care coordination practices or clinical decision supports) and system or community-level components (like linkage pathways, culturally tailored services, transportation solutions, or partnerships that reduce access barriers).

A major theme is health disparities: the initiative explicitly prioritizes interventions designed for communities that are disproportionately affected and that face inequities tied to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position. That means the projects should be designed with equity in mind from the beginning, including culturally responsive approaches, feasible delivery in safety-net settings, and attention to the structural drivers that make comorbidity management harder in the first place. Multidisciplinary work is encouraged, implying teams that can integrate clinical HIV care, chronic disease management, behavioral health, implementation science, community engagement, and social/structural intervention methods, depending on what the intervention targets.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of U.S.-based organizations and governmental entities. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; and Native American tribal organizations that are not federally recognized tribal governments. The opportunity is also open to nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and small businesses. In addition, the announcement highlights specific categories of eligible applicants such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. This wide eligibility list signals NIH’s interest in bringing in community-rooted organizations and minority-serving institutions alongside traditional academic and healthcare research centers, which can be important for designing interventions that are credible, trusted, and sustainable in the communities most affected.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions regarding foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are also not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In short, the applicant organization must be U.S.-based, and the work cannot include foreign components under NIH’s definition for this funding announcement.

Administratively, the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the opportunity is categorized under CFDA numbers 93.307 and 93.313. The original closing date listed is 2026-12-11. The excerpt you provided does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so applicants would need to review the full announcement for budget and project period expectations, review criteria, and any institute-specific priorities tied to this RFA. Overall, the program is best understood as an NIH push to fund rigorous clinical-trial-based intervention studies that can reduce comorbidity burden and improve day-to-day functioning and long-term aging outcomes for people living with HIV who are most affected by inequities in health and healthcare access.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Interventions to Address HIV-Related Comorbidities among Highly Affected Populations Experiencing Health Disparities (R01 - Clinical Trial Required)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.307, 93.313.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-09-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-12-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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