[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38280-38282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18283]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 01151]


Development of Model Voluntary Counseling and Testing Services in 
the Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the

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availability of fiscal year (FY) 2001 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program for the development of pilot voluntary counseling and testing 
(VCT) services in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
    The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to increase access to 
quality VCT services in Addis Ababa by involving, encouraging and 
supporting the Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat 
for pilot VCT services in the city of Addis Ababa.
    Since the implementation of VCT services to the general population 
has been identified as a key strategy for the prevention of HIV 
transmission, these collaborative activities could profoundly change 
the focus and activities of the Ethiopian National AIDS Policy and 
improve AIDS control programs and prevention efforts in Ethiopia and 
eventually throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
    The U.S. Government seeks to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in 
specific countries within sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas 
through its Leadership and Investment in Fighting an Epidemic (LIFE) 
initiative. Through this LIFE program, CDC has initiated its Global 
AIDS Program (GAP) to strengthen capacity and expand activities in the 
areas of (1) HIV primary prevention; (2) HIV care, support, and 
treatment; and (3) capacity and infrastructure development. Targeted 
countries represent those with the most severe epidemics 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. Ethiopia is one of these targeted countries.
    As a key partner in the U.S. Government's LIFE initiative, CDC is 
working in a collaborative manner with national governments and other 
agencies to develop programs of assistance to address the HIV/AIDS 
epidemic in LIFE initiative countries. In particular, CDC's mission in 
Ethiopia is to work with Ethiopian and international partners to 
develop and apply effective interventions to prevent HIV infection and 
associated illness and death from AIDS.
    Ethiopia is among the world's countries most adversely affected by 
the HIV/AIDS epidemic and TB. With an estimated three million adults 
infected with HIV by end of 1999, Ethiopia has the third largest 
population of HIV-infected persons in the world, accounting for about 9 
percent of the world's HIV/AIDS cases. The estimated percent of adults 
aged 15 to 49 infected with HIV is 10.6 percent, making Ethiopia 
sixteenth in the world in HIV prevalence. There have been over a 
million cumulative deaths due to AIDS, with 280,000 occurring in 1999 
alone. UNAIDS estimated that 150,000 children are currently living with 
HIV and that 1.2 million children have been orphaned by AIDS, making 
Ethiopia third in the number of HIV orphans in the world. The principal 
routes of HIV transmission are heterosexual and mother-to-infant; HIV 
and other STIs are closely associated. The World Health Organizations 
(WHO) estimated TB incidence, prevalence and deaths rates for Ethiopia 
in 1997 were 260, 367, and 82 per 100,000 population respectively, 
which represented 156,000 new cases, 221,000 infections and 49,000 
deaths for that year. TB cases have been increasing over the years 
coincident with HIV epidemic; HIV prevalence among TB patients is 
estimated at 40-50 percent. Data on STIs, however, are scant. These 
statistics suggest the need for the expansion and improvement of a 
range of surveillance, care, and prevention activities and services.
    Voluntary counseling and testing is one of the major strategies in 
the prevention of HIV transmission which also serves as a tool to 
reduce and/or avoid risky behaviors. It provides increased 
opportunities for the early diagnosis of HIV infection, prevention and/
or treatment of opportunistic infections, prevention of mother-to-child 
HIV transmission (PMTCT), and improvement of surveillance systems. 
Implementing quality VCT has not been feasible thus far because of the 
unavailability of standard counseling and testing guidelines, training 
manuals and established referral systems linked to care and support. In 
Addis Ababa during the past two years, the few ``VCT'' centers 
established were primarily owned and operated by private clinics and 
faith-based organizations. Findings from studies and personal 
observations indicate that although the community demand for testing is 
on the increase in the city, most of the services were found to be 
unaffordable financially and also lacked standard approaches for 
testing and counseling. To address this public demand and further 
intensify the prevention efforts, the establishment of quality VCT is 
very important. This project is therefore aimed at setting up 
standardized integrated VCT service at one of the general hospitals 
(Princess Zewditu Memorial Hospital) and free-standing VCT services at 
an NGO (OSSA) in Addis Ababa.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS 
Prevention and Control Secretariat. No other applications are 
solicited.
    The Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat is the 
only appropriate and qualified organization to conduct a specific set 
of activities supportive of the CDC Global AIDS Program's technical 
assistance to Ethiopia because:
    1. The Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat is 
uniquely positioned, in terms of legal authority, ability, and 
credibility among Ethiopian citizens, to develop and implement a model 
VCT system in public and non-governmental organization sites in Addis 
Ababa, Ethiopia.
    2. The Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat 
already has established mechanisms to develop and implement VCT 
services in Addis Ababa, enabling it to immediately become engaged in 
the activities listed in this announcement.
    3. The purpose of the announcement is to build upon the existing 
framework of HIV prevention activities that the Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS 
Prevention and Control Secretariat itself has developed or initiated.
    4. The Addis Ababa HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Secretariat has 
been mandated by the Ethiopian government to coordinate and implement 
HIV prevention activities including VCT within the Addis Ababa region.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $500,000 is available in FY 2001 to fund this award. 
It is expected 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 change.
    Continuation awards within the approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as evidenced by required reports 
and the availability of funds.
    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.

1. Use of Funds

    Funds received from this announcement will not be used for the

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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.
    No funds awarded under this announcement shall be used to carry out 
any program of distributing sterile needles or syringes for the 
hypodermic injection of any illegal drug.
    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, with the following exception;
    Indirect Costs: With the exception of the American University, 
Beirut, the Gorgas Memorial Institute, and the World Health 
Organizations, indirect costs will not be paid (either directly or 
through a sub-award) to organizations located outside the territorial 
limits of the United States or to international organizations 
regardless of their location.

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. Click on ``Funding'' then 
``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
    To obtain business management technical assistance, contact: 
Dorimar Rosado, Grants Management Officer, Grants Management Branch, 
Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, 
Telephone number: (770) 488-2782, e-mail: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Tadesse Wuhib, MD, MPH, 
CDC Ethiopia, U.S. Embassy, P.O. Box 1014, Entoto Road, 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Telephone: 251-9-22-00-84 e-mail: [email protected].

    Dated: July 17, 2001.
John L. Williams,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention (CDC).
[FR Doc. 01-18283 Filed 7-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P