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PRGI/MyFedAccess
Contract Activity & Project Profiles: LAC - Brazil

1.    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)
2.    State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) Course/Meetings for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
            Public Health & Nutrition Field Officers
3.    Displaced Children & Orphans Fund


Contract Activity:    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)


Background:    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) routinely enters into contracts with vendors to acquire a variety of goods and services in support of its development projects and initiatives. When requirements that need to be fulfilled are identified, the requesting Program/Project Office submits its Scope of Work (SOW) to a Contract Officer. In turn, the Contract Officer incorporates the SOW into the resultant Request for Proposals/Quotations (RFP/Q).

To help ensure the agency receives responsive Proposals/Quotations, the SOW and RFP must clearly describe the technical requirements, as well as the rules and regulations that must be followed by all vendors. The next critical step in the Acquisitions & Assistance process is evaluating the Proposals/Quotations that are submitted by prospective vendors. Finally, after a contract is awarded, a Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO)--historically known as the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative--oversees the actual delivery of the goods and/or services that were procured.

Certain procurement policies are subject to change, and there is a constant turnover of Contract Officers and CTOs; hence, ongoing training must be provided in all phases of the Acquisition & Assistance/Procurement process to ensure compliance with the prevailing procurement policies.

Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted to design a curriculum and training manuals, provide Subject Matter Experts, and Professional Facilitators to assist government procurement personnel in delivering the Acquisition & Assistance training course for Contract and Cognizant Technical Officers from Brazil and in other countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America (including the Caribbean Basin), and the Middle East. Case studies, audio-visual materials, small group discussions, and other tools were used to enhance the effectiveness of the overall training presentation.

The course included instructions and guidance on how to write a comprehensive Scope of Work and how to evaluate responses to Request For Proposals/Quotations.

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Contract Activity:    State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) Course/Meetings for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
    Public Health & Nutrition Field Officers

Background:    In many regions of LAC unequal access to quality health services presents a major obstacle to achieving overall health improvements, as well as economic and social development. This is reflected across health indicators, but especially in maternal and child health indicators, which have been slow to improve among poor, rural, or otherwise marginalized groups. Similarly, while trends in fertility and contraceptive prevalence rates for the region are positive overall, large pockets of unmet need exist for family planning and reproductive health services, and ensuring uninterrupted contraceptive supplies and access to services for the neediest remains a challenge.

HIV/AIDS is also a significant and growing problem that not only threatens individual lives, but also jeopardizes prosperity and social stability at national and sub regional levels.

Latin America and the Caribbean Basin Countries

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*Eastern Caribbean Countries


The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) uses State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) programs and practices to help alleviate the Public Health and Nutrition deficiencies identified by Field Officers located throughout LAC. USAID/LAC programs are designed to:

• Build health systems capacity
  

• Improve child survival, health, and nutrition
  

• Improve maternal health and nutrition
  

• Reduce unintended pregnancy and improve healthy reproductive behavior
  

• Reduce transmission and impact of HIV/AIDS
  

• Prevent and control infectious diseases of major importance
  

• Reduce non-communicable diseases and injuries
  

• Address health requirements of internally displaced persons
  
  

To keep one another informed and up-to-date on SOTA Practices that are working in the field, USAID/LAC brings their Public Health and Nutrition Officers together periodically to exchange "Best Practices," and to plan future programs.


Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted to design, facilitate, and provide Logistical and Administrative Support Services for week-long USAID/LAC State-Of-The-Art (SOTA) Course/Meetings. Field Officers from Brazil who were in attendance at the SOTA Course/Meetings hosted by PRGI learned how their counterparts from other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean Basin and other leading Public Health and Nutrition professionals from the private sector were meeting their challenges. In addition to having sessions that dealt with the specific programs and initiatives designed around the Strategic Objectives for the region, SOTA discussions were also held regarding the processes used to support and measure their progress. With the USAID/Washington senior staff members in attendance, the Field Officers were able to relate the success of their efforts and make recommendations that could help ensure the sustainability of programs sponsored by the USAID/LAC Missions throughout the region. Case studies, audio-visual materials, small group discussions, and other tools were used to enhance the effectiveness of the overall training presentation.

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Contract Activity:    Displaced Children & Orphans Fund


Background:    An estimated 135 million children living in developing countries lack the support and protection of parents or suitable guardians. These most vulnerable children are usually innocent victims of dire social and economic distress, disease, or conflict. The number includes perhaps more than 400,000 unaccompanied refugee or internally displaced children, 200,000 child combatants, more than 100 million street children and 34 million children who have lost one or both parents to disease or other causes.

With support and encouragement from Congress, the U. S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) began to address the needs of orphans in 1989. Its mission is to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to provide care, support, and protection for orphans, unaccompanied minors, and war-affected children. The fund works through nongovernmental organizations (NGO) in developing countries to develop models and implement programs that provide direct service to children and support local organizations so that work can be sustained beyond the length of the grant.

Displaced Children and Orphans Fund was Active in 25 Countries

1. Afghanistan	7. Brazil	13. Guatemala	19. Sri Lanka	25. Zambia
2. Angola	8. Cambodia	14. Kenya	20. Sudan
3. Azerbaijan	9. Colombia	15. Liberia	21. Tanzania
4. Bangladesh	10. Congo*	16. Mozambique	22. Thailand
5. Belarus	11. Egypt	17. Nepal	23. Uganda
6. Burundi	12. Georgia	18. Philippines	24. Ukraine

____________________
*Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa


Support programs for displaced children and orphans fall into the following categories:

• Children Affected by War - With no fewer than 25 civil conflicts being waged at the present time, more than 500,000 children are thought to be unaccompanied or separated from their families. Some 300,000 are thought to actually be fighting in these conflicts.
  
  

• Children Orphaned by AIDS - In just the 23 countries included in USAID's study, Children on the Brink, the number of children orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic will increase from under 25 million in 1990 to over 41 million in the year 2010.
  
  

• Street Children - An estimated 100 million children work or live on the streets of the developed and developing worlds. They are the innocent victims of family financial distress, and social, economic and political upheaval. Over the past decade, the problem has worsened, leaving a tremendous loss of human potential and a detrimental impact on economic and social development.
  
  

• Children with Disabilities - Stigmatized by cultural values and religious beliefs, they are hidden in back rooms or placed in government institutions, displaced from communities and society. DCOF is supporting community-based approaches to provide care and training in life skills.
  
  

Project Title in Brazil:    At-Risk Youth Project

Cooperating Agency in Brazil:    Partners of the Americas (POMMAR)

Background:    Nearly one-third of Brazilians live in poverty. The situation is particularly precarious for children and youth. Recent improvements in the country's economy have not appreciably affected the many children already living, or at risk of living, on the streets. Migration into large urban centers and an increasingly impoverished population surrounding capital cities cause children to turn to begging, informal employment, and crime.

These children are often left outside of the education system, locking them into cycles of poverty and social exclusion. Young girls are increasingly involved in prostitution or are victimized by sexual exploitation and violence. Brazil still lacks safety networks capable of supporting the implementation of enforceable legislation.

Displaced Children & Orphans Fund
Provides Support for Orphans, Unaccompanied Minors, and At-Risk-Youth

Partners of the Americas (POMMAR)
Provides Training, Protection Against Violence, and STD/AIDS Prevention Programs

Project Description in Brazil:    Working in cooperation with other international donors and Brazilian philanthropic organizations, POMMAR aims to provide vocational training and access to education; protect children and youth against violence; promote reproductive health and STD/AIDS prevention; and invest in local organizations and activities to expand NGO and government organizations' capacity to assist at-risk children and youth.

Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted by USAID to administer these funds and provide Technical, Logistical, and Administrative Support Services for displaced children and orphans in more than 20 countries, including Brazil. The POMMAR Project (Prevencao Orientada aos Meninos e Meninas em Risco/Prevention Oriented to At-Risk Youth) was a USAID-funded project which supported nongovernmental (NGOs) and governmental organizations serving the needs of at-risk children in northeastern Brazil. Since 1989, DCOF has contributed more than $74,000,000 to programs in these countries. Funds were used to expand support of activities in four new countries while the DCOF was being administered by PRGI.

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