[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 90 (Thursday, May 9, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31317-31319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-11560]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 02161]


Support for Municipal Health Departments in Zimbabwe for 
Development of Innovative Programmatic Models for Prevention and Care 
Services for HIV/AIDS; Notice of Availability of Funds

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
availability of fiscal year (FY 2002) funds for a cooperative agreement 
with the Municipal Health Departments in Zimbabwe for Development of 
Innovative Programmatic Models for Prevention and Care Services for 
HIV/AIDS.
    The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to offer support to 
municipal health departments in Zimbabwe for implementation of 
innovative programs to address HIV/AIDS. Special areas of interest 
include projects for which access to more intensive laboratory 
services, clinical, or evaluation expertise that are available in a 
city may be needed in order to develop simplified algorithms or program 
models that could then be implemented more broadly in Zimbabwe. 
Examples include programs for delivery of highly active antiretroviral 
therapy (HAART), programs for the Prevention of Mother-To-Child 
Transmission (PMTCT). Also, developing and delivering training programs 
designed for the needs and convenience of private medical 
practitioners, who tend to be concentrated in large cities, is another 
target of this request for proposals from municipal health services.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Municipal health departments are the sole potential applicants for 
this announcement for several reasons:
    1. The purpose of this announcement is to establish actual 
programmatic, public sector models for innovative approaches to HIV 
care, prevention, and training within the health care system of 
Zimbabwe, so that only licensed, public sector providers of health care 
within Zimbabwe could apply. The only two other public sector-supported 
providers of health care in Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Health and Child 
Welfare (MOHCW), and the Mission Hospitals (represented by the Zimbabwe 
Association of Church Hospitals (ZACH), have been funded through other 
cooperative agreements with CDC.
    2. Among the publicly supported systems of health care, Municipal 
Health Departments have consistently served as a source of innovation 
and development of models that can be readily exported to other public 
sector services, in particular the MOHCW.
    3. At the current time, only the Municipal Health services of the 
major cities could possibly bring together the required expertise from 
the Faculty of the UZ Medical School in combination with clinical 
facilities and staff. Harare and Bulawayo Health Departments have long 
been in the forefront of innovation and training in public health in 
Africa. These and other city health departments are the only health 
system operators that are located in the major population centers where 
a sufficient volume of patients is available to serve as the basis for 
large-scale training programs.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $200,000 is available in FY 2002 to fund one or two 
awards between $50,000-$200,000 per award. It is expected that the 
awards will begin on or about August 30, 2002, and will be made for a 
12-month budget period within a project period of up to five years. 
Funding estimates may change.
    Continuation awards within an approved project period will be made 
on the basis of satisfactory progress as

[[Page 31318]]

evidenced by required reports and the availability of funds.

Use of Funds

    The purchase of antiretrovirals, reagents, and laboratory equipment 
for antiretroviral treatment projects requires pre-approval from the 
Global AIDS Program (GAP) headquarters.
    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 exceptions:
    Indirect Costs: With the exception of the American University, 
Beirut, the Gorgas Memorial Institute, and the World Health 
Organization (WHO), 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.
    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.
    Federal law requires that no funds appropriated under this 
cooperative agreement shall be used to carry out any program of 
distributing sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection 
of any illegal drug.

D. Program Requirements

    In conducting activities to achieve the purpose of this program, 
the recipient(s) will be responsible for the activities under 1. 
(Recipient Activities), and CDC will be responsible for the activities 
listed under 2. (CDC Activities).
1. Recipient Activities
    Implement innovative program models for prevention or care 
activities for HIV/AIDS, working in the framework of available national 
guidelines and with participation of the relevant units of the (MOHCU), 
in areas for which technological sophistication such as special 
capability in laboratory services, health informatics, evaluation 
capacity, specialized clinical expertise, or other services are 
uniquely available. Examples of such areas include, but are not limited 
to:
    a. Programs to deliver Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) 
in African setting;
    b. Programs for PMTCT of HIV infection; and
    c. Pograms for multidisciplinary AIDS care for special groups 
(e.g., HIV-infected children or all hearing-impaired persons) that 
involve establishing networks of care and referral among diverse health 
care and social services providers.
    Initiate a broad operational research program in the domain of one 
or more areas of innovative clinical prevention or care services. In 
the process of providing such care, fully document the nature and cost-
effectiveness of such care and prevention strategies, and disseminate 
the findings. By conducting all these activities in a collaborative, 
multidisciplinary context, identify and develop tools to help 
facilitate development of reports, documents, or other products that 
will lead toward:
    a. A resource center for developing simpler public health 
approaches and models, but providing expert backup and evaluation for 
those;
    b. A referral center for difficult cases encountered in settings 
with less resources; and
    c. A training center for scaling up the implementation nationally.
    Collaborate with other CDC grantees and with CDC to identify high 
priority activities in the domains of clinical prevention and care 
services that are susceptible to a resource-intensive collaboration of 
diverse agencies and institutions such as are only found in larger 
cities. Work to develop and implement protocols that will help 
elucidate viable public health models for delivering such interventions 
in the context of public health services in Zimbabwe. Assist in 
developing tools for program expansion following any successful pilot 
activities, in collaboration with MOHCW, CDC, University of Zimbabwe, 
and other partners.
2. CDC Activities
    Collaborate with the Recipient on designing and implementing the 
activities listed above, including but not limited to the provision of 
technical assistance to develop and implement program activities, 
analyses, and capacity building assistance.
    When necessary, procure specific services, equipment and supplies, 
as well as other materials required to support implementation of 
activities covered under this agreement.
    Monitor project and budget performance.

E. Content

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    A LOI is required for this program. The narrative should be no more 
than two (2) double-spaced pages, printed on one side, with one-inch 
margins, and size 12 font. Your letter of intent will be used to help 
plan the review process, and should include the following information:
    1. Principal Organization
    2. Partners, Districts, Regions Involved
    3. 500 word (or less) abstract outlining ``Central Concepts'' to be 
developed more fully in the complete application
    4. 300 word (or less) statement of qualifications and capacity.
    5. Estimated amount of funds to be requested.

Applications

    Use the information in the Program Requirements, Other 
Requirements, and Evaluation Criteria sections to develop the 
application content. Your application will be evaluated on the criteria 
listed, so it is important to follow them in laying out your program 
plan. The narrative should consist of, at a minimum, a plan, 
objectives, methods, evaluation and budget; and be no more than 20 
double-spaced pages, printed on one side, with one-inch margins, and 
12-point font.

F. Submission and Deadline

Letter of Intent (LOI)

    On or before June 14, 2002, submit the LOI to the Grants Management 
Specialist identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' 
section of this announcement.

Application

    Submit the original and two copies of PHS 5161-1 (OMB Number 0920-
0428). Forms are available in the application kit and at the following 
Internet address: www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/forminfo.htm On or before July 15, 
2002, submit the application to the Grants Management Specialist 
identified in the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of 
this announcement.
    Deadline: Letters of Intent and final Applications shall be 
considered as meeting the deadline if they are:
    Received on or before the deadline date.
    Late: Letters of Intent and Applications which do not meet the 
above criteria will be returned to the applicant.

[[Page 31319]]

G. Evaluation Criteria

    Note: Each application will be evaluated individually against 
the following criteria by an independent review group appointed by 
CDC. Domains for this evaluation will include:

Understanding the Purpose of the Overall Plan of the Application (15 
points)
    A cogent, brief summary of critical issues; succinct, coherent 
understanding of the purpose of the program announcement; and cross-
cutting, cost-effective approaches to responding to the announcement.
Objectives (15 points)
    A translation of the general purposes of the program announcement 
into no more than four specific objectives, products, or outputs of the 
cooperative agreement.
Methods (15 points)
    Enunciation of a methodology appropriate for accomplishing the 
Objectives outlined above.
Evaluation (15 points)
    Brief explanation of how internal monitoring and evaluation of this 
program will contribute to strengthening and institutionalization of 
this program during the period of the grant.
Capacity (40 points)
    Strengthening operational capacity of civil service organizations. 
(20 points)
Expanding prevention, care and support services provided by civil 
society organizations. (20 points)
    Budget and Cost-effectiveness. (Reviewed but not scored)
    Creative and convincing approaches to resource utilization 
(financial, personnel, computing, etc.) to lead to a major impact of 
available resources.
    Human Subjects. (Reviewed but not scored)
    The extent to which the application adequately addresses the 
requirements listed in the 45 CFR part 46 for the protection of human 
subjects.

H. Other Requirements

Technical Reporting Requirements

    1. Progress reports (annual); a brief, comprehensive narrative 
progress report should be submitted no later than 30 days after the end 
of the budget period. The progress report must include the following: 
(a) A comparison of the actual accomplishments to the objectives 
established; (b) the reasons for slippage if established objectives 
were not met; and (c) other pertinent information.
    2. Measures of effectiveness that will demonstrate the 
accomplishment of the various identified objectives of the grant/
cooperative agreement. Measures must be objective/quantitative and must 
measure the intended outcome. These Measures of Effectiveness shall be 
submitted with your application and shall be an element of evaluation.
    3. Financial status report, no more than 90 days after the end of 
the budget period.
    4. Final financial report and performance report, no more than 90 
days after the end of the project period.
    Obtain annual audit of these CDC funds (program-specific audit) by 
a U.S.-based audit firm with international branches and current 
licensure/authority in country, and in accordance with International 
Accounting Standards or equivalent standard(s) approved in writing by 
CDC.
    A fiscal Recipient Capability Assessment may be required with the 
potential awardee, prior or post award, in order to review their 
business management and fiscal capabilities regarding the handling of 
U.S. Federal funds.
    Send all reports to the Grants Management Specialist identified in 
the ``Where to Obtain Additional Information'' section of this 
announcement.
    The following additional requirements are applicable to this 
program. For a complete description of each, see Attachment I of the 
announcement.

AR-1  Human Subjects Requirements
AR-2  Requirements for Inclusion of Women and Racial and Ethnic 
Minorities in Research
AR-4  HIV/AIDS Confidentiality Provisions
AR-12  Lobbying Restrictions
AR-14  Accounting System Requirements
AR-22  Research Integrity

I. Authority and Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number

    This program is authorized under section 307 of the Public Health 
Service Act, (42 U.S.C. section 242l), as amended. The Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance number is 93.118.

J. 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 Specialist, International & 
Territories Acquisition & Assistance Branch Procurement & Grants 
Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Room 3000, 2920 
Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: (770) 488-2782, E-
mail: [email protected]
    For program technical assistance, contact: Michael St. Louis, M.D., 
Global AIDS Program (GAP), Zimbabwe Country Team, National Center for 
HIV, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC), Zim-CDC AIDS Project Team, 38 Samora Machel Avenue, 2nd Floor, 
Harare, Zimbabwe, Telephone: 263 4 796040 796048, Fax: 263 4 796032, E-
mail: [email protected]

    Dated: May 4, 2002.
Sandra R. Manning,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-11560 Filed 5-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P