[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64382-64383]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-26536]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Program Announcement 02076]


Expansion of HIV/AIDS/STD Surveillance, Care, and Prevention 
Activities in the Republic of Tanzania; Notice of Award 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 
program for the expansion of HIV/AIDS/STD surveillance, care, and 
prevention activities in the Republic of Tanzania.
    The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to improve HIV/AIDS 
surveillance, care, and prevention capacity and activities in Tanzania. 
This will be accomplished by cooperation between CDC and the Ministry 
of Health National AIDS Control Program (MOH/NACP) of Tanzania. These 
collaborative activities could profoundly change the focus and 
activities of the Tanzania National AIDS Policy. Most importantly, 
having a better understanding of the association between specific 
behaviors, STDs, and HIV prevalence will likely

[[Page 64383]]

improve AIDS control programs and prevention efforts in Tanzania 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 Global AIDS Program (GAP). 
CDC has initiated its Global AIDS Program 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, especially for surveillance. 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. Tanzania is one of these targeted countries.
    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 GAP countries. In particular, CDC's mission in 
Tanzania is to work with Tanzanian and international partners in 
discovering and applying effective interventions to prevent HIV 
infection and associated illness and death from AIDS.
    Tanzania has approximately 31 million people. In 1997, NACP 
estimated that 2.4 million (8 percent) would be HIV-infected by the 
year 2000. In 1998, the MOH reported that the HIV seroprevalence of 
pregnant women in four sentinel districts ranged from 12 to 24 percent. 
Also for 1998, the MOH reported that HIV seroprevalence among male 
blood donors was 9 percent, while the rate was 12 percent among female 
donors. The Adult Morbidity and Mortality Project recently reported 
that HIV/AIDS and TB were the leading causes of death in 15 to 59 year-
old men and women in three study areas. These statistics suggest the 
need for the expansion and improvement of a range of surveillance, 
care, and prevention activities and services.
    Accurate surveillance is the mainstay of public health programs, 
providing essential information for focusing prevention activities, 
allocating resources, and monitoring effectiveness of programs. 
Additionally, gaps in care and prevention activities are factors that 
must be addressed to reduce the epidemic's burdensome impact in 
Tanzania. The prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania will 
continue to depend on the availability of accurate surveillance data 
and the continuation and expansion of basic care and prevention 
activities.

B. Eligible Applicants

    Assistance will be provided only to the National AIDS Control 
Program (NACP) of the Tanzania Ministry of Health (MOH). No other 
applications are solicited.
    The NACP is currently the only appropriate and qualified 
organization to conduct a specific set of activities supportive of the 
CDC Global AIDS Program's (GAP) technical assistance to Tanzania for 
the following reasons:
    1. The NACP is uniquely positioned, in terms of legal authority, 
ability, and credibility among Tanzanian citizens, to collect crucial 
data on HIV/AIDS prevalence and incidence, as well as other health 
information.
    2. The NACP has established mechanisms to access health 
information, 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 health information and activities that the MOH itself has 
collected or initiated.
    4. The Ministry of Health in Tanzania has been mandated by the 
Tanzanian constitution to coordinate and implement activities necessary 
for the control of epidemics, including HIV/AIDS and STDs.

C. Availability of Funds

    Approximately $1,000,000 is available in FY 2002 to fund this 
award. It is expected that the award will begin on or about June 1, 
2002, and will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project 
period of 5 years. Approximately $500,000 will be available for years 
2-5 of the project. 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.

Use of Funds

    Funds received under this announcement may not be used for the 
direct purchase of anti-retroviral drugs to treat established HIV 
infection, occupational exposures, and non-occupational exposures and 
will not be used for the purchase of instruments 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, with the following exceptions:

    Indirect Costs: With the exception of the American University, 
Beirut, the Gorgas Memorial Institute, and the World Health 
Organization, 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.

    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. Click on ``Funding'' then 
``Grants and Cooperative Agreements.''
    To obtain business management technical assistance, contact: 
Cynthia Collins, Grants Management Specialist, Grants Management 
Branch, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Road, Room 3000, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146. 
Telephone number: 770-488-2757. e-mail: [email protected].
    For program technical assistance, contact: Eddas M. Bennett, Deputy 
Director, CDC Tanzania AIDS Program, National Center for HIV, STD, and 
TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 140 
Msese Road, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Telephone: 2 666 010 x4164. e-
mail: [email protected].

    Dated: October 9, 2002.
Edward J. Schultz,
Deputy Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 02-26536 Filed 10-17-02; 8:45 am]
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