Program Expansion Supplement: Capacity Building through Training/Mentoring for Treatment, Care and Support; Health System Strengthening; and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zambia under PEPFAR

The summary for the Program Expansion Supplement: Capacity Building through Training/Mentoring for Treatment, Care and Support; Health System Strengthening; and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zambia under PEPFAR grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Centers for Disease Control CGH, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Program Expansion Supplement: Capacity Building through Training/Mentoring for Treatment, Care and Support; Health System Strengthening; and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Zambia under PEPFAR: With a population of approximately 13 million people, Zambia has about 1,800 health facilities ranging from health posts to tertiary level facilities. Adult HIV prevalence rate is about 14%, with approximately 1.1 million HIV infected individuals. With the support of PEPFAR, Zambia has since 2004 scaled up treatment services to about 500,000 of these individuals representing about 80% of HIV infected adults in need of treatment. With PEPFAR support, treatment, care and support services are available in about 1200 PMTCT sites, of which about 720 are antiretroviral therapy (ART) co-located. Universal PMTCT coverage has resulted in a reduction in Maternal-to-Child Transmission (MTCT) rates in this breastfeeding population to about 12% at 12 months, resulting in fewer new pediatric HIV infections.However, challenges still remain with only about 38% of the pediatric population in need receiving treatment, suboptimal retention rates for those in care, only 13% of the adult population knowing their HIV status, low rates of couples HIV testing, low rates of VMMC, inadequate number of TB/HIV co-infected receiving optimum care package, data quality, and other quality assurance issues.Program Area A: Training and Capacity BuildingAdherence to national guidelines is critical to improving and sustaining quality care for HIV infected clients and over the last ten years of PEPFAR support, guidelines have been revised several times, the latest revision in February 2014, to address these challenges and to meet international recommendations. With these guideline revisions comes the need to train and retrain the healthcare providers as well as to update pre-service training curricula. Substantial resources have been and continue to be invested in this form of capacity building in a country with a human resource health crisis and where, for available staff, turn-over and attrition is high.The MOH is mandated to develop training and policy guidance for HIV related programs which are then implemented by the MCDMCH. The Awardee is expected to support both ministries to develop and expand existing cost efficient programs using a “blended” learning approach which may include distance learning using e-learning and on-the-job training (OJT) materials. The awardee will also work in collaboration with the country’s medical and paramedical training and regulatory bodies, especially with regard to integrating latest guidelines into pre-service curricula as well as strengthening continuous professional development (CPD) as it relates to re-licensure and career advancement. In addition, the Awardee is expected to build the supervisory and technical capacity of the national, regional, and district health management teams, trainers and local organizations so they can provide post training follow up, mentorship and supportive supervision to healthcare providers and ensure that there is knowledge, skill, and attitude transfer resulting in improved quality of services.Program Area B: Technical Assistance and Service DeliveryWith PEPFAR support, the awardee(s) will support the Government of Zambia (GOZ) to increase the coverage of VMMC through technical assistance and direct service delivery in CDC supported regions. The Awardee will provide the requisite level of technical assistance to districts, scaling back as milestones are achieved and district capacity is institutionalized in accordance with the national strategy for decentralization.