41470 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 5, 2000 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[Program Announcement 00133]

Notice of Availability of Funds;

Prevention Program Development and

Technical Assistance To Improve

Blood Safety and Reduce the Impact of

HIV/AIDS in Countries Targeted by the

Leadership and Investment in Fighting

the Epidemic (LIFE) Initiative

A. Purpose

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) announces the

availability of fiscal year (FY) 2000

funds for a cooperative agreement

program for HIV/AIDS Prevention

Program Development and Technical

Assistance Collaboration with Countries

Targeted by the LIFE (Leadership and

Investment in Fighting an Epidemic)

Initiative.

In July 1999, the Administration

announced the LIFE Initiative to address

the global AIDS pandemic. The LIFE

initiative, an effort to expand and

intensify the global response to the

growing AIDS pandemic and its serious

impact, is part of the United States

(U.S.) Government’s participation in the

International Partnership Against HIV/

AIDS in Africa (IPAA). A central feature

of the LIFE Initiative is a $100 million

increase in U.S. support for sub-Saharan

African countries and India, which are

working to prevent the further spread of

HIV and to care for those affected by

this devastating disease. This additional

funding is a critical step by the U.S.

Government in recognizing the impact

that AIDS continues to have on

individuals, families, communities, and

nations and responding to the

imperative to do more. The Department

of Health and Human Services (HHS),

through its agency the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is

administering $35 million of the $100

million allocated to the LIFE Initiative

by Congress.

The purpose of the program is to

support HIV/AIDS prevention program

development and technical assistance

for countries designated by the U.S.

Congress under the LIFE Initiative. At

present, those countries are Botswana,

Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa,

Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia,

Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania,

Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and India. The

countries targeted represent those with

the most severe epidemic 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.

The goals of the program are to

address and support three program

elements of the LIFE initiative: Primary

Prevention, Capacity and Infrastructure

Development, and Community and

Home-Based Care and Treatment. The

program described in this

announcement calls for the delivery of

HIV/AIDS prevention program

development and technical assistance to

the LIFE countries through a variety of

recipient activities. The result will be an

enhancement of the skills of officials

from LIFE country national AIDS

programs in strategic planning,

implementation, evaluation, and

communication relating to HIV/AIDS

prevention and care programs.

B. Eligible Applicants

Assistance will be provided only to

the American Red Cross (ARC) for this

project. No other applications are

solicited.

ARC is the appropriate and only

qualified agency to provide the services

specified under this cooperative

agreement because:

1. As a member of the International

Federation of Red Cross and Red

Crescent Societies (the Federation), ARC

is the only officially recognized Red

Cross society within the United States

representing the worldwide network of

Red Cross National Societies. As such,

it supports and implements Red Cross

programs throughout Africa and India,

including programs in the LIFE

countries with a special focus on

designing, implementing, and

evaluating HIV/AIDS prevention

programs and policy. This places ARC

in a unique position to partner with the

Federation, Red Cross National Societies

and LIFE country public health officials

in prevention programs. In addition, the

same set of knowledge, skills, and

abilities ARC has developed in working

with domestic Red Cross entities,

African and Indian National Societies,

and the Federation are of critical

importance in improving the capacity of

national AIDS control programs in

African countries and India.

2. Because of ARC’s relationship to

the Federation and Red Cross National

Societies in LIFE countries, ARC can

provide access to a broad, deep, and

unique worldwide network. The

Federation is an international

humanitarian organization that exists to

improve the situation of the world’s

most vulnerable people, including those

impacted by HIV/AIDS. The Federation,

founded in 1919, has a presence in more

than 176 countries through its national

Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

(The Red Crescent is used in place of

the Red Cross in many Islamic

countries.) The unique strength of the

Federation lies in its global network of

Red Cross National Societies and its

Federation Secretariat with delegations

strategically located to support Red

Cross and Red Crescent activities in

various regions. Red Cross and Red

Crescent National Societies act as

auxiliaries to the public authorities of

their own countries and provide a range

of services including health and social

programs focusing on community-based

outreach and service delivery through a

network of volunteers.

3. Unique in its experience and

capacity, ARC is the United States’

largest supplier of blood, plasma, and

tissue products as well as an innovator

in blood safety. ARC is uniquely

qualified to provide technical assistance

to blood safety programs in LIFE

countries. ARC Blood Services supplies

almost half of the nation’s blood by

working with more than 4.5 million

donors and 3,000 hospitals through its

national network of 38 blood regions. In

the 50 years since the inception of its

national civilian blood services

program, ARC has made several

important contributions in the health

care field, made major improvements to

blood safety, and developed new blood

products and technologies, helping to

satisfy the changing health care needs in

the U.S.

4. The American Red Cross has been

the lead supporter technically and

financially of the Federation-led African

Red Cross/Red Crescent Health

Initiative (ARCHI) 2010. ARCHI is a

strategy to increase the impact of Red

Cross National Society health programs

Africa-wide. The overall goal of ARCHI

is to measurably improve health in

Africa. Over the next decade, the

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, the Federation, 53 African

Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

and their related in-country Ministries

of Health (MOH), United Nations

Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World

Health Organization (WHO), and

multiple others have committed to

building and enhancing Red Crossdelivered health programs throughout

Africa. The ARCHI Initiative is the most

comprehensive and inclusive process

ever undertaken by the Federation to

serve vulnerable populations

throughout Africa.

5. Through participation in ARCHI,

ARC has developed strong collaborative

relationships with numerous domestic

and international organizations.

Internationally, ARC and the Federation

have spearheaded ARCHI, which

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 5, 2000 / Notices 41471

involves numerous collaborations with

agencies such as MOHs, WHO, UNICEF,

and the World Bank. Domestically, as

the largest supplier of blood in the U.S.,

ARC is uniquely positioned to

collaborate with Federal agencies and

AIDS control program officials in blood

safety.

6. ARC has access to a wealth of HIV/

AIDS resources that may be adapted,

both from its domestic programs and its

international initiatives, such as the

ARCHI tool kits and the Federation’s

Action with Youth, HIV/AIDS STDs: A

Training Manual for Young People.

Additionally, ARC and the Federation

have expertise in establishing regional

networking mechanisms for

dissemination of information and

lessons learned. For example, the

‘‘Caribbean Youth HIV/AIDS Network’’

(CARAN) and the ‘‘Asian Red Cross /

Red Crescent Task Force on HIV/AIDS’’

(ART) are models that are being

replicated in West Africa.

7. ARC has already developed a range

of technical services domestically,

including instructor training courses,

communication and cooperation in

sharing Red Cross HIV/AIDS

information and resources on a

statewide basis in the U.S., support of

home care for people living with HIV/

AIDS, and prevention among youth

through peer-to-peer education

programs. Through the Federation, ARC

is uniquely positioned to disseminate

this information to national AIDS

control program officials in LIFE

countries.

Note: Public Law 104–65 states that an

organization described in section 501(c)(4) of

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that

engages in lobbying activities is not eligible

to receive Federal funds constituting an

award, grant, cooperative agreement,

contract, loan or any other form.

C. Availability of Funds

Approximately $3 million is available

in FY 2000 to support this award. It is

expected that the award will begin on or

about September 1, 2000, and will be

made for a 12-month budget period

within a project period of up to 3 years.

Funding estimates may change.

Continuation awards within an

approved project period will be made

on the basis of satisfactory progress as

evidenced by required reports and the

availability of funds.

Use of Funds

Funds received from this

announcement will not be used for the

purchase of antiretroviral drugs for

treatment of established HIV infection,

occupational exposures, and nonoccupational exposures and will not be

used for the purchase of machines 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).

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.

Scroll down the page, then click on

‘‘Funding’’ then ‘‘Grants and

Cooperative Agreements.’’

To receive additional written

information and to request an

application kit, call 1–888–GRANTS4

(1–888–472–6874). You will be asked to

leave your name and address and will

be instructed to identify the

Announcement number of interest.

If you have questions after reviewing

the contents of all the documents,

business management technical

assistance may be obtained from:

Yolanda I. Gonzalez-Alvarez, Grants

Management Specialist, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

Procurement and Grants Office, Room

3000, Mailstop E–15, 2920 Brandywine

Road, Atlanta, GA 30341–4146,

Telephone: (770) 488–2781, E-mail:

ybg0@cdc.gov.

For program technical assistance,

contact: Leo Weakland, Deputy

Coordinator, Global AIDS Activity

(GAA), National Center for HIV, STD,

and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), 1600

Clifton Road, Mailstop E–07, Atlanta,

GA30333, Telephone number (404) 639–

8016, Email address: lfw0@cdc.gov.

Dated: June 28, 2000.

John L. Williams,

Director, Procurement and Grants Office,

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC).

[FR Doc. 00–16850 Filed 7–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND

HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC)and the Agency for

Toxic Substances and Disease

Registry (ATDSR) Announces the

Following Meetings

Name: National HIV Prevention Plan

Meetings.

Time and Dates: 9 a.m.–12 p.m. (noon).

Tuesday—July 18, 2000

Hotel Pennsylvania, 401 7th Avenue, New

York, NY 10001, Phone: 212–736–5000

Wednesday—July 26, 2000

Crowne Plaza-Houston, 2222 West Loop

South, Houston, TX 77027, Phone: 713–

961–7272

Thursday—July 27, 2000

Congress Plaza Hotel, 520 South Michigan

Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605, Phone: 312–

427–3800

Tuesday—August 1, 2000

The Argent Hotel, 50 Third Street, San

Francisco, CA 94103, Phone: 415–974–

6400

Place: See Above.

Status: Open to the public, limited only by

the space available. The meeting room

accommodates approximately 100 people.

Purpose: To present the current draft of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s

National HIV Prevention Strategic Plan and

to provide an opportunity for community

comment.

Matters To Be Discussed: Agenda items

include background and development of the

draft National HIV Prevention Strategic Plan;

the plan itself; next steps in plan

development; and public comments.

Contact Person for More Information:

Lydia Ogden, National Center for HIV, STD,

and TB Prevention, Office of Planning and

Policy Coordination, 1600 Clifton Road, N.E.,

M/S E–07, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, telephone

404/639–8031.

The Director, Management Analysis and

Services Office, has been delegated the

authority to sign Federal Register Notices

pertaining to announcements of meetings and

other committee management activities, for

both the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention and the Agency for Toxic

Substances and Disease Registry.

Dated: June 23, 2000.

Carolyn J. Russell,

Director, Management Analysis and Services

Office, Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention.

[FR Doc. 00–16846 Filed 7–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P