[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 126 (Thursday, June 29, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40099-40100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16437]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement Number 00064]


Notice of Availability of Funds; Announcement of a Cooperative 
Agreement With the Minority Health Professions Foundation To Enhance 
Professional Education, Research Infrastructure, and Community Service 
in the Areas of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Partnering With 
African American Institutions

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency 
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) announce the 
availability of fiscal year (FY) 2000 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program with the Minority Health Professions Foundation (MHPF). The 
purpose of the program is to assist the Minority Health Professions 
Foundation in the following manner:
    1. To improve the practice of public health at member schools by 
strengthening their public health infrastructure;
    2. To enhance the quantitative and qualitative analytic research 
infrastructure of the participating institutions;
    3. To strengthen the educational and professional development of 
minority health professionals and educators;
    4. To support student training initiatives, in order to introduce 
public health to minority students;
    5. To provide health education and outreach for decreasing the 
needs of the poor, minority, and under-served populations; and
    6. To enhance the interactions between the Minority Health 
Professions Foundation schools, the historically black colleges and 
universities and public health institutions.
    This program addresses the commitments of the CDC and ATSDR in 
achieving the health promotion and disease prevention objectives of 
``Healthy People 2010'', a national activity to reduce morbidity and 
mortality, while improving the quality of life. This announcement is 
related to the 2010 objectives, which specify improving the health of 
groups of people bearing a disproportionate burden of poor health, as 
compared to the total population. The framework of ``Healthy People 
2010'' consists of two broad goals which are to:
    1. Increase quality and years of healthy life; and
    2. Eliminate health disparities.
    The goals of ``Healthy People 2010'' have been established as the 
Nation's prevention goals and as a scorecard for monitoring health 
status. The nations goals and objectives established in ``Healthy 
People 2010'' will build upon the foundation for establishing a small 
set of leading health indicators that could be presented to the general 
public and non-health professionals as an introduction to ``Healthy 
People''. ``Healthy People 2010'' will be a tool for monitoring 
America's health. For the conference copy of ``Health People 2010'' 
visit the internet site: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople>.
    Eliminating disparities by the year 2010 will require new knowledge 
about the determinants of disease and effective interventions for 
prevention and treatment. It will also require improved access for all 
to the resources that influence health. Reaching this goal will 
necessitate improved collection and use of standardized data to 
correctly identify all high-risk populations and monitor the 
effectiveness of health interventions targeting these groups. Research 
dedicated to a better understanding of the relationships between health 
status and income, education, race and ethnicity, cultural influences, 
environment, and access to quality medical services will help us 
acquire new insights into eliminating the disparities and developing 
new ways to apply our existing knowledge toward this goal. Improving 
access to quality health care and the delivery of preventive and 
treatment services will require working more closely with communities 
to identify culturally sensitive implementation strategies.
    While the nation has made remarkable progress in understanding the 
causes and risks for developing diseases that have important 
implications for the health of all Americans, the health status of the 
nation's minority and poor lag considerably behind that of White 
Americans. The contributing factors for many disparities include 
inadequate family incomes, lack of access to medical care, and 
environmental hazards. The greatest opportunities for improvement and 
the greatest threats to the future health status of the Nation reside 
in the population groups that have historically been disadvantaged 
economically, educationally and politically. In partnering with 
different racial and ethnic groups, the CDC can work closely with 
institutions, organizations, and communities to help eliminate 
disparities in health while meeting the goals of ``Healthy People 
2010''.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the Minority Health Professions 
Foundation (MHPF). No other applications are solicited.
    The MHPF is the most appropriate and qualified organization to 
provide services specified under this cooperative agreement because:
    1. The MHPF is dedicated to supporting the organizational growth of 
minority health professional schools to ensure the advancement of 
specific research in minority health, the education and professional 
development of minority health care professionals and educators, and 
the continuing provision of health services in minority and poor 
communities;
    2. The MHPF represents twelve member institutions which include 
medical, dental, pharmacy, and veterinary medicine schools in 
historically African-American colleges and universities. Collectively, 
these institutions have trained one out of every two African American 
physicians, dentists, and pharmacists; and three out of every four 
African American veterinarians. The member institutions have also 
trained a substantial number of other minority and non-minority health 
professionals;
    3. The MHPF member institutions are comprised of the Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that not only house the health 
professions schools, but three of which house schools of public health;
    4. The primary objective of the MHPF and the nine Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities is to address the health needs of 
African American and other minority population groups;
    5. The MHPF institutional members have significantly fostered and 
advanced dramatic growth and expansion of its member institution's 
collaborative efforts, bolstered and supported considerable increase in 
public health, medical and scientific research, and assisted in 
amplifying minority health community education and outreach nationally;
    6. The MHPF and its member schools have the capacity to conduct 
basic sciences and clinical research, and are attacking the various 
diseases and conditions that disproportionately

[[Page 40100]]

impact minority and disadvantaged citizens in America; and
    7. The MHPF member institutions were founded specifically to 
improve the health status of medically underserved African Americans 
and other ethnic minority groups, and play a critical role in building 
the nation's health care workforce.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $200,000 is available in FY 2000 to fund this 
cooperative agreement. Sub-awards will be funded through CDC and ATSDR. 
A cumulative award of approximately $2,000,000 to the MHPF is expected 
during FY 2000. Subawards will range from $25,000 to $450,000. It is 
expected that the awards will begin on September 30, 2000. Funding 
estimates may vary and are subject to change. Continuation awards 
within the project period will be made on the basis of satisfactory 
progress and the availability of funds.
    Applications that exceed the funding cap of $450,000 will be 
excluded from the competition and returned to the applicant.

D. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    A complete program description and information on application 
procedures are contained in the application package. Business 
management technical assistance may be obtained from Sheri Disler, 
Senior Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC), 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, MS E-15, Koger 
Center, Colgate Building, Atlanta, Georgia 30341-3724. Telephone 770-
488-2756. E-mail address [email protected].
    Program technical assistance may be obtained from Karen E. Harris, 
Senior Advisor for Research Projects, Office of the Associate Director 
for Minority Health, Office of the Director, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road, Northeast, Mailstop D-39, 
Atlanta, Georgia 30333. Telephone (404) 639-4313, E-mail address 
[email protected].

    Dated: June 23, 2000.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 00-16437 Filed 6-28-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P