[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22881-22882]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8747]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Request for Application (RFA) 05076]


National Training and Mentoring Program To Strengthen Voluntary 
Counseling and Testing (VCT) Programs in Malawi; Notice of Intent To 
Fund Single Eligibility Award

A. Purpose

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the 
intent to fund fiscal year (FY) 2005 funds for a cooperative agreement 
program to strengthen voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services 
in Malawi by providing financial and technical assistance for the 
development and implementation of a national VCT training and post-
training mentoring program in Malawi. The Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance number for this program is 93.067.

B. Eligible Applicant

    This program has only one eligible applicant, Malawi AIDS 
Counseling Resource Organization (MACRO) in Lilongwe, Malawi. No other 
applications will be considered. MACRO is a non-profit, non-
governmental organization (NGO), which has been providing VCT services 
in all three major regions of Malawi for more than five years. No other 
NGO has services reaching all the major regions of the country. The 
annual patient volume for MACRO services ranges from 45,000 to 50,000, 
which is well beyond any other service provider, including the Ministry 
of Health (MOH). This NGO also is the only organization in Malawi, 
which has VCT sites that are physically large enough to accommodate the 
practical sessions for 20 course participants in all three regions of 
the country.
    MACRO has five experienced counselors that have already attended 
training of trainers (TOT) courses for CT. This is more than any other 
VCT service provider in Malawi. The recipient of this cooperative 
agreement as a training organization will also be expected to serve as 
a model provider of VCT services. MACRO's VCT sites have been visited 
and certified by the MOH, and MACRO has in place a program to ensure 
quality of VCT services at its sites. MACRO is currently called upon to 
provide CT training for MOH counselors and other organizations in 
Malawi. The organization is currently serving as the largest de facto 
provider of CT training in Malawi. Unfortunately, these training 
requests divert experienced counselors from their normal duties as 
service delivery providers. This cooperative agreement will assist 
MACRO in establishing and maintaining the capacity to carry out a 
formal, well-organized national training and mentoring program without 
diverting its service delivery resources. It will also support the 
national expansion of VCT services at a critical time in the scale-up 
of anti-retroviral (ART) in Malawi.

C. Funding

    Approximately $175,000 is available in FY 2005 to fund this award. 
It is expected that the award will begin on or before July 1, 2005, and 
will be made for a 12-month budget period within a project period of up 
to 3 years. Funding estimates may change.

D. Where To Obtain Additional Information

    For general comments or questions about this announcement, contact: 
Technical Information Management, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 
2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341-4146, Telephone: 770-488-2700.
    For program technical assistance, contact: Margarett Davis, MD, 
MPH, Project Officer, Kang'ombe Building 8 West, City Centre, Lilongwe 
3, Malawi, Telephone: 265-1-775-188, E-mail: [email protected].
    For financial, grants management, or budget assistance, contact: 
Shirley Wynn, Contract Specialist, CDC Procurement and Grants Office, 
2920 Brandywine Road, Atlanta, GA 30341, Telephone: 770-488-1515, E-
mail: [email protected].


[[Page 22882]]


    Dated: April 26, 2005.
William P. Nichols,
Acting Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-8747 Filed 5-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P