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WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 27, 2004 — The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the core task order (Task Order One, or TO1) of the new Private Sector Program (PSP) to the Abt Associates consortium, which includes PSI. The five-year, $60 million project is the primary core funded vehicle under the PSP for "improving the state of the art in expanding private sector supply, increasing knowledge and improving the policy environment in population and reproductive health." Other members of the consortium include Family Health International (FHI) and IntraHealth. TO1 is the follow-on project to Commercial Market Strategies (CMS), which worked to improve health by increasing the use of quality family planning and other health products and services in partnership with the private sector. The five-year project ended earlier this year. Core support of $25 million will be used to evaluate, conduct applied research and monitor activities in social marketing, provider networks, public/private partnerships, behavior change and health care financing. TO1 will accept field support — now set at ceiling of $30 million — for technical assistance activities and program implementation in the full range of private sector health activities, including HIV/AIDS prevention, maternal and child health and malaria. PSI Senior Marketing Manager Françoise Armand will provide technical leadership in social marketing and commercial partnerships and be responsible for researching and disseminating best practices, assisting with pilot projects and identifying new ways to increase commercial sector participation in the marketing of health products. PSI Research Director Steve Chapman and Senior Program Analyst Stewart Parkinson will provide technical and research assistance. — David J. Olson, PSI/Washington |
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