[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49486-49487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-20312]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Notification of Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for the 
Pasteur Foundation

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Office of 
Policy and Planning (OPP).

[[Page 49487]]


ACTION: Notification of Single Source Cooperative Agreement Award for 
the Pasteur Foundation for Building and Strengthening Core Capacities 
for Influenza Preparedness and Response in Support of International 
Health Regulations (2005) Implementation in Selected Countries in Sub-
Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. CFDA: 93.019

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STATUTORY AUTHORITY: Sections 301, 307, 1701 and 2811 of the Public 
Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 241, 242l, 300u, 300hh-10.

Amount of Single Source award: $1,800,000.

Project Period: September 30, 2011 to September 29, 2014.
SUMMARY: In FY2011, HHS/ASPR/OPP plans to provide a Single Source 
Cooperative Agreement Award to the Pasteur Foundation to build and 
strengthen core capacities for influenza preparedness and response in 
support of International Health Regulations (2005) implementation in 
Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.
    ASPR, in close coordination with the HHS Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), will collaborate with the Pasteur 
Institute and Pasteur Institute affiliates in Cameroon, Central African 
Republic, and Senegal in Africa, and Cambodia in Asia to develop and 
implement activities for preparedness and response for pandemic 
influenza with applicability to other emerging respiratory infections 
and public health threats in general. The project will focus on 
building upon existing routine health systems to further develop IHR 
(2005) core capacities including communication (IHR National Focal 
Point communication), workforce development, and surveillance and 
laboratory diagnostics. This work will be performed in the context of 
Article 44 of the IHR (2005), which directs State Parties to 
collaborate with each other to detect, assess, and respond to events, 
and to develop, strengthen, and maintain core public health capacities 
for surveillance and response.

Single Source Justification

    In the recent past, ASPR and Pasteur Institute collaborated on 
developing epidemiological surveillance capacity for influenza-like 
illness (ILI) in five countries in Africa and three countries in Asia 
as the basis for developing the capacities to detect influenza viruses 
with epidemic or pandemic potential. As a result of this project and 
the collaboration with other international partners, eighty 
surveillance sites were established among the eight countries, the 
laboratories in Cameroon and Cambodia became National Reference 
Laboratories for avian influenza, and all eight laboratories in the 
host-countries became WHO National Influenza Centers.
    In Southeast Asia, the International Network of Pasteur Institutes 
is strategically positioned to study the natural history of Highly 
Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI H5N1). Cambodia and its affiliated 
Pasteur Institute are important partners in the region that can act as 
a hub for training and sharing of technical expertise as its National 
Influenza Center can identify and isolate HPAI H5N1 strains and has 
experience in Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory 
Infections (SARI) surveillance.
    In Sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroon has built a surveillance system and 
the Centre Pasteur of Cameroun under the Ministry of Health has been 
designated by WHO as a National Influenza Center. Moreover, the Centre 
Pasteur du Cameroun is also the National IHR Focal Point, making it a 
key partner for IHR (2005) implementation. The Pasteur Institute of 
Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) is recognized by WHO as a 
National Influenza Center. This is the only organization capable of 
performing influenza diagnostics in the country, which was able to 
detect the first case of H1N1 in 2010. This recognition will be 
leveraged to further strengthen and interlink the current surveillance 
network for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. A solid partnership 
between Cameroon and CAR is particularly important as this is a region 
in Sub-Saharan Africa where the virus has been detected. In Senegal, 
the Pasteur Institute of Dakar has set up the influenza surveillance 
sentinel system, is reporting to the Ministry of Health, and is hosting 
the National Influenza Center. Senegal has a leading role in the West 
African region on influenza, and with its involvement in regional CDC's 
Field Epidemiology Training Program, could become an important leader 
with regard to IHR (2005) implementation. In addition, Senegal is the 
one of the two countries in Africa that currently has the potential to 
develop influenza vaccine manufacturing technology in the short- to 
medium-term, if supported by international partners, including ASPR.
    In making this award, ASPR will capitalize on the Pasteur Institute 
International Network and its access to francophone countries in Africa 
and with a strong French influence in Asia. Based on the lessons 
learned from previous collaborations, this new investment will allow 
HHS to contribute to build international capacity in collaboration with 
a prestigious international partner by sharing experiences, strategies, 
and best practices, and other technical resources in helping developing 
countries improve their capabilities for pandemic influenza and 
implement IHR core capacities.
    In summary, the Pasteur Institute's strong collaborative 
relationships with foreign governments, programmatic support, and 
familiarity with host-country involvement in influenza preparedness 
will be critical for the viability of this cooperative agreement. This 
collaboration will support HHS efforts to continue building capacity 
abroad with the ultimate intent of detecting, stopping, slowing or 
otherwise limiting the spread of a pandemic to the United States, 
ultimately enhancing the health security of the American population.

Additional Information: The agency program contact is Dr. Maria Julia 
Marinissen, who can be contacted at 202-205-4214 or 
[email protected].

    Dated: August 5, 2011.
Nicole Lurie,
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
[FR Doc. 2011-20312 Filed 8-9-11; 8:45 am]
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