MyFedAccess

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suffering in every corner of the globe
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PRGI/MyFedAccess
Contract Activity & Project Profiles: Africa - Ethiopia

1.    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)
2A. Displaced Children & Orphans Fund -- 2B. Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund
3.    Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project -- The Leland Initiative


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 in Ethiopia and 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:    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

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*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 Ethiopia:    NGO Sector Enhancement Initiative

Cooperating Agency in Ethiopia:    Private Agencies Collaborating Together (PACT)

Background:    Recurrent drought, famine, poverty, and almost three decades of civil war have ravaged the people of Ethiopia, especially Ethiopia's children. An estimated 5 million Ethiopian children are said to be street children, orphans, victims of armed conflict, child workers, or youth trapped in prostitution. As many as 500,000 children have HIV/AIDS, 620,000 will have the disease by the year 2000, and 1.8 million will have the disease by the year 2009.

Compounding these problems is the present border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia. This conflict will likely increase the number of displaced children and orphans, with an additional 1.2 million children orphaned or considered highly vulnerable to the existing situation.

Project Description in Ethiopia:    The Initiative's purpose is to enhance the capacity of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working with children at risk, orphans, street children, and war-affected children; improve the enabling environment in which NGOs operate in the country; and support umbrella and networking groups that take a proactive approach in representing and supporting members. Forty-five strategic action grants awarded to NGOs to implement a variety of projects, including non-formal education programs, microcredit services, income-generation schemes, reintegration of orphaned children into school, skills training for orphaned children, and street children prevention programs.

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 Ethiopia. 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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Contract Activity:    Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (WVF)


Background:    The War Victims Fund supports programs that provide for the improved mobility of people with disabilities by providing accessible, appropriate prosthetic services. With a renewed focus on quality of service, the fund added patient follow-up and monitoring as part of its projects. Special programs that upgrades medical and surgical services for victims of accidental detonations of unexploded ordnance has been successful in some countries (like Laos) and is being replicated in other countries.

Historically, war victims and other people living with disabilities face daunting obstacles in gaining access to education, training, and employment opportunities. Appropriate policies and construction codes for barrier-free accessibility for people living with disabilities can help overcome these obstacles. Toward this end, an innovative program of assistance in Vietnam that began with a focus on barrier-free accessibility has resulted in passage of a comprehensive national disabilities law. This legislation was drafted with the assistance of Americans who participated in efforts to pass and implement the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund was Active in 20 Countries

1. Afghanistan	6. El Salvador	11. Laos	16. Philippines
2. Cambodia	7. Ethiopia	12. Lebanon	17. Sri Lanka
3. Colombia	8. Guatemala	13. Nepal	18. Sudan
4. Costa Rica	9. Honduras	14. Nicaragua	19. Uganda
5. Congo*	10. Kenya	15. Panama	20. Vietnam

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*Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa


Improved economic conditions and the ability to increase earned income are essential to the health and welfare of all individuals, including those living with disabilities. The fund has supported a variety of innovative approaches to increase income-generating opportunities for war victims and their families. Lessons learned from these approaches can be used to develop similar programs in other countries.

As the fund evolved, its agenda became more challenging. Plans were made to include people with disabilities in planning and implementing programs; improved training; expanded community-based rehabilitation; development and production of appropriate wheelchairs; and increased coordination with other donors.

Project Title in Ethiopia:    ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled's Polypropylene Prosthetic Training Centre

Cooperating Agency in Ethiopia:    International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Project Description in Ethiopia:    In 1998, between 18 and 30 million land mines lay scattered throughout 18 sub-Saharan countries, including Ethiopia. This region-wide proliferation of land mines continues to cause thousands of land-mine-related accidents each year. And as a result, thousands of people require prosthetic and orthotic devices to regain economic and psychological independence within their communities.

A major obstacle to providing prosthetic and orthotic services to amputees in these countries is the scarce availability of sustainable services--services that will exist long enough to fit amputees with the numerous prosthetic and orthotic devices they will need over the course of a lifetime. Another major obstacle to adequate service is the affordability of materials needed to make and refit prostheses.

Displaced Children & Orphans Fund
Provides Support for Orphans, Unaccompanied Minors, and War-Affected Children

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
ICRC Special Fund for the Disabled's Polypropylene Prosthetic Training Centre

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has developed an efficient method of producing low-cost, high-quality polypropylene prostheses. Through USAID funding, the Prosthetic Orthotic Training Centre of Addis Ababa provides ready-made components for ICRC-assisted rehabilitation centers. It organizes training in the manufacture of polypropylene sockets for trainees working in these centers, which are mostly located in countries affected by war, and provides for technical follow-up to ensure quality control.

The principle objective is to train African technicians in the production and use of thermoplastic components for low-cost, high-quality prosthetics.

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 civilian victims of war in more than 20 countries, including Ethiopia. The Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (WVF) compliments the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), both were under the administration of PRGI. Each year, through the efforts of its collaborating partners and the dedicated and professional commitment of their local and international staff, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund provides assistance to thousands of war victims, their families, and other people living with disabilities.

Since 1989, the Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund has worked in war-affected developing countries to provide a dedicated source of financial and technical assistance for civilian victims of war. The fund has now provided over $60 million in more than 16 countries, including Ethiopia. The fund serves people who suffer from mobility-related injuries, including those with land-mine injuries, and those who suffer from polio as a result of interrupted immunization services.

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Contract Activity:    Africa Global Information Infrastructure Project -- The Leland Initiative


Background:    The Africa Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Gateway Project, also known as the Leland Initiative, was a five-year $15 million project designed to provide or extend full Internet connectivity to up to 21 African nations. The project facilitated and encouraged Internet use by Africans and their development partners to meet the challenges of achieving Sustainable Development. Approved by the U.S. Congress in 1995, the initiative was named in honor of the late U.S. Congressman, Mickey Leland, who was killed in a plane accident in Ethiopia, in 1989. Mr. Leland had worked extensively on African affairs and was a strong advocate of U.S. support to African nations.

Leland Initiative Partner Countries

1. Benin	8. Guinea Bissau	15. Rwanda
2. Botswana	9. Kenya	16. Senegal
3. Cote d'Ivoire	10. Madagascar	17. South Africa
4. Eritrea	11. Malawi	18. Tanzania
5. Ethiopia	12. Mali	19. Uganda
6. Ghana	13. Mozambique	20. Zambia
7. Guinea	14. Namibia	21. Zimbabwe

The Leland Initiative was an inter-agency effort coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but also included the U.S. Departments of State and Defense (Navy). Project activities were governed by three Strategic Objectives:

• Strategic Objective 1: Create an enabling policy environment in project countries to facilitate electronic networking and access to Global Information Infrastructure technologies.
  
  

• Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen the local telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate Internet access and support a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry to ensure the local availability of reliable, accessible, and cost-effective Internet access.
  
  

• Strategic Objective 3: Achieve broad-based utilization of Global Information Infrastructure technologies by USAID and its development partners, including host country governments, to promote Sustainable Development strategies.
  
  

Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project

(The Leland Initiative)

Bringing Information Affluence to 21 African Countries

In each country where the Leland Initiative was active, the three (3) Strategic Objectives (SO3) began with a series of country assessments that addressed 1) the national and regional policies and regulations concerning telecommunications and information access and use; 2) the condition of the national telecommunications infrastructure; and 3) the potential demand for Internet access in the public and private sectors. Data gathered from these assessments formed the foundation for individualized country reports and action plans for SO3 activities. Critical to the success of the project was the negotiation of Memorandums of Understanding among the stakeholders (the U.S. government, host country government, and primary local telecommunications provider) and technical training of local engineers to continue operating the Internet Gateway after it was installed. The details of how these Strategic Objectives were accomplished are provided below.


Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted to provide Technical, Logistical, Managerial, and Administrative Support Services in support of accomplishing the Strategic Objectives of the Leland Initiative by: a) providing policy and technical assistance; and b) teaching the USAID Mission staff and host country government personnel how to use the Internet to effectuate Sustainable Development strategies. Before technical assistance was provided, PRGI conducted initial field assessments in each participating country to examine the current telecommunications policy and regulatory environment, as well as the existing telecommunications infrastructure.

Having an open and competitive market for potential Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the private sector was viewed as key to the success of the Leland Initiative, and a major condition of the resultant Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) that was signed by the U.S. government, the host country government, and the local telecommunications providers/operators. Hence, the initial field assessments were also designed to gauge the interest of local entrepreneurs to become ISPs. After the data gathered during the initial field assessments were submitted and analyzed, PRGI personnel returned to each country and negotiated the Memorandums of Understanding. Once the conditions of the MOU were successfully negotiated and signed, financial and technical assistance was given to the host country governments to obtain and install equipment that provided them with a gateway to the Internet; hence, paving the way for the development of ISPs in the private sector.

Anatomy of the Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project

(The Leland Initiative)

1) Meeting w/Stakeholders; 2) Signing the MOU; and 3) Promoting the Internet Inauguration
Bringing Information Affluence to the Continent of Africa

Technical assistance to the host country government and local telecommunications providers also consisted of broad dissemination of information concerning Leland Initiative activities. This included drafting speeches and press releases, developing brochures, and making direct contact with groups interested in the Leland Initiative activities (i.e., gaining access to the Internet). A heavy promotional campaign (television and radio interviews & ribbon cutting ceremonies) was conducted to build wide user awareness. In addition to highlighting that (affordable) access to the Internet was available, the campaign was complemented with training for the USAID Mission staff and their partner organizations.

To provide Technical, Logistical, Managerial, and Administrative Support Services throughout Africa, PRGI established partners and Leland Liaison Offices in key regions of the continent (Morocco--North Africa, Guinea--West Africa, and Madagascar--Southeast Africa). The Leland Liaison Offices were staffed by PRGI personnel and tasked with providing short-term support to help the USAID Missions, their partner institutions, and new ISPs develop promotional and training materials for their respective organizations. New ISPs were also provided assistance with obtaining financing, establishing operational procedures, and setting their rates.

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