[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 140 (Friday, July 20, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37965-37966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18158]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 01147]


Cooperative Agreement With the World Health Organization/Regional 
Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO); Notice of the Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National 
Center for HIV/STD/TB Prevention (NCHSTP), announces the availability 
of funds for fiscal year (FY) 2001 for a sole source cooperative 
agreement with the World Health Organization/Regional Office for Africa 
(WHO/AFRO).
    The purpose of this agreement is to help support implementation of 
the Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) 
Initiative, a United States Government program that seeks to reduce the 
impact of HIV/AIDS in specific countries within sub-Saharan Africa, 
Asia and the Americas. CDC, through the LIFE Initiative, focuses on 
strengthening the capacity of national AIDS control programs in the 
areas of (1) HIV primary prevention, (2) HIV care, support, and 
treatment, and (3) capacity and infrastructure development, especially 
for surveillance. Countries targeted represent those with the most 
severe epidemic and the highest number of new infections. They also 
represent countries where the potential for impact is greatest and 
where U.S. government agencies are already active. An updated list of 
partner countries for the CDC-LIFE Initiative is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/gap/default.htm.
    This agreement supports a framework of interventions, grounded in a 
series of goals and objectives consistent with those established for 
the international community by the Joint United Nations Programme on 
AIDS (UNAIDS) in support of the International Partnership Against AIDS 
in Africa (IPAA).
    According to recent estimates from UNAIDS and WHO, 36.4 million 
adults and children were living with HIV by the end of 2000. Of the 
total estimate, approximately 25.3 million (69 percent of the total 
world-wide) adults and children were living with AIDS in sub-Saharan 
Africa alone. As a key partner in the U.S. Government's LIFE 
Initiative, CDC, through its Global AIDS Program (GAP), is working in a 
collaborative manner with national governments, USAID and other Federal 
agencies, and other international donor agency partners to develop 
programs of assistance to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in LIFE 
Initiative countries. CDC is establishing partnership and support 
relationships primarily with national governments in highly affected 
countries, and with a number of other partner organizations to support 
country-level action.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the World Health Organization/
Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) in support of LIFE Initiative 
activities in sub-Saharan Africa. No other applications will be 
solicited.
    WHO's Regional Office for Africa is the most appropriate and 
qualified agency to conduct a specific set of activities supportive of 
CDC's LIFE Initiative-related assistance to countries in sub-Saharan 
Africa because:
    1. WHO/AFRO covers the region of the world most heavily impacted by 
the HIV/AIDS epidemic and is both chartered and uniquely positioned to 
assist national AIDS control programs and other partners to strengthen 
national health sector responses to HIV/AIDS.
    2. WHO, through its regional office, is a leading partner within 
the International Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (IPAA) in Africa, an 
international umbrella effort to increase support and visibility for a 
multi-lateral emergency response to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The 
LIFE Initiative is a key supporter of the IPAA.
    3. Through decisions and resolutions of the WHO Regional Committee 
for Africa, the WHO Executive Board and the World Health Assembly, WHO/
AFRO's Regional Programme on AIDS (RPA) has been called upon to 
accelerate its support to the regional

[[Page 37966]]

response. The Strategic Plan for Scaling Up WHO/AFRO's Support to 
Countries outlines RPA's planned approaches to accelerating support to 
countries. Planned approaches are all within the context of the IPAA 
and consistent with the overall spirit of the LIFE Initiative.
    4. The focus of action for CDC's requested support from WHO/AFRO is 
in regional policy setting, information sharing and regional-level 
aggregation and interpretation of health data related to surveillance, 
prevention and care for HIV/AIDS within the region. In this sense, WHO/
AFRO is unique in that it is the sole health sector policy-setting 
organization that includes all sub-Saharan African countries as member 
countries within one organization. WHO also maintains a network of 
country offices and WHO Coordinating Centres to serve as critical links 
for ensuring country access to available technical resources, 
information and coordination.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,000,000 is available in FY 2001 to fund this 
project. It is anticipated that the award will begin on or about 
September 30, 2001 and will be made for a 12-month budget period within 
a project period of up to five years. Annual 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 availability of 
funds.

Use of Funds

General Use
    Funds may be used for: (a) Establishing strategies, policies and 
guidelines for health sector responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in 
Africa in areas such as surveillance, laboratory, care and prevention. 
(b) Conducting meetings and other relevant activities that contribute 
to the development, dissemination and evaluation of strategies, 
policies and guidelines. (c) Aggregating and disseminating information, 
strategies, policies, guidelines and training materials pertinent to 
HIV/AIDS and HIV-related conditions, including internet-based and other 
tools for efficient cataloguing and disseminating such information, and 
support for increasing national capacities to retrieve such information 
from such systems. (d) Building capacity within Ministries of Health, 
National AIDS Councils, and similar key national institutions. (e) 
Supporting key networks within the region to lead evidence-based, 
improved health sector practices relevant to HIV/AIDS in Africa (such 
as international networks within Africa to provide training in HIV 
quality of care on a national or subregional basis).
General Non-Use
    Funds received from this announcement will not be used for capital 
expenditures such as the purchase of off-road and multi-passenger 
vehicles, large volume (greater than 50) purchase of computers and data 
storage systems, space renovations and other significant improvements 
to physical environments where activities are carried out.
Specific Non-Use
    Funds received from this announcement will not be used for the 
direct treatment of established HIV infection, occupational exposures, 
and non-occupational exposures and will not be used for the direct 
purchase of equipment and reagents to conduct hospital-based laboratory 
monitoring for patient care or confirmatory tests. Funds will not be 
used for staff positions within CDC or WHO country offices.
Antiretroviral Drugs
    Funds received from this announcement will not be used for the 
purchase of antiretroviral drugs for treatment of established HIV 
infection (with the exception nevirapine in PMTCT cases and with prior 
written approval), occupational exposures, and non-occupational 
exposures and will not be used for the purchase of machines and 
reagents to conduct the necessary laboratory monitoring for patient 
care.
    Applicants may contract with other organizations under these 
cooperative agreements, however, applicants must perform a substantial 
portion of the activities (including program management and operations 
and delivery of prevention services for which funds are requested.
    The costs that are generally allowable in grants to domestic 
organizations are likewise allowable to foreign institutions and 
international organizations.
    All requests for funds, including the budget contained in the 
application, shall be stated in U.S. dollars. Once an award is made, 
the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will not compensate 
foreign grantees for currency exchange fluctuations through the 
issuance of supplemental awards.
Needle Exchange
    No funds appropriated under this Act shall be used to carry out any 
program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic 
injection of any illegal drug.

D. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    This and other CDC announcements can be found on the CDC home page 
Internet address (http://www.cdc.gov). Scroll down the page, then click 
on ``Funding'' then ``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
    To receive additional written information and to request an 
application kit, call 1-888-GRANTS4 (1-888-472-6874). You will be asked 
to leave your name and address and will be instructed to identify the 
Announcement number of interest.
    If you have questions after reviewing the contents of all the 
documents, business management technical assistance may be obtained 
from:
    Dorimar Rosado, Grants Management Specialist, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), Procurement and Grants Office, Room 3000, 
2920 Brandywine Road, Mailstop E-15, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: 
770-488-2782, E-mail: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Michael St. Louis, 
Global AIDS Program (GAP), Zimbabwe Country Team, National Center for 
HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), 38 Samora Machel Ave., 2nd Floor, Harare, Zimbabwe, Telephone 
number: 263-11-613-193, Email address: [email protected].

    Dated: July 16, 2001.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 01-18158 Filed 7-19-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P