Global Health Security (GHS) Activity RFI.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Reference: Request for Information - 72061524RFI00002

Issue Date: January 29, 2024

Response Due Date: February 9, 2024 at 17:00 Nairobi, Kenya Time

Title: USAID/Kenya and East Africa Global Health Security (GHS) Activity

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. It is not a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to issue any Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) or solicitation or to ultimately award a contract or assistance agreement on the basis of this RFI.

The United States Government, represented by the USAID Mission to Kenya and East Africa (USAID/KEA) through the Office of Population Health and Nutrition (HPN) is seeking feedback from responsible local Kenyan organization(s) which are defined as an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that— 1) is legally organized under the laws of Kenya; 2) has as its principal place of business or operations in Kenya, and 3) is (A) majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Kenya; and (B) managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Kenya – including, but not limited to, private for-profit, private not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations – that could potentially support services and activities in Global Health Security in Kenya. As a result of this RFI, USAID/KEA will have a better and more complete understanding of the pool and composition of organizations that could potentially contribute to USAID’s in-country Global Health Security programs.

This RFI is an attempt to reach out to the market to determine the scope of industry capabilities and interest and will be treated as information only. Responses to this notice are not applications and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding agreement. Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary, and USAID will not pay respondents for the information provided in response to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned, and respondents will not be notified of the result of the review.

If a NOFO or solicitation is issued, it will be announced publicly at a later date and all interested parties must respond to that NOFO/solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement.

This RFI does not restrict the Government’s approach on a future funding opportunity or solicitation.

USAID/KEA is in the process of designing these activities. No decision has been made regarding the type of instrument that will be used (e.g. acquisition or assistance). For this reason, this RFI will be posted on the Federal grants and contracts websites: www.grants.gov and www.sam.gov. Please continue to monitor these sites for any updates to this RFI.

Sincerely, Sandra Jansen Agreement/Contracting Officer

Sandra Jansen

Digitally signed by Sandra Jansen Date: 2024.01.29 14:03:14 +03'00'

ATTACHMENT 1

RFI Concept

USAID/Kenya and East Africa Global Health Security (GHS) Activity Background:

USAID's Global Health Security (GHS) Program seeks to prevent and mitigate the increasing occurrence and severity of epidemics, pandemics, and other emerging infectious disease threats. USAID's Global Health Security Program works with partner countries - as well as global, regional, local, public, and private sector organizations - to help strengthen systems needed to prevent and mitigate the increasing occurrence and severity of emerging infectious disease threats. These partnerships build and strengthen measurable, sustainable capacity while helping to develop and adopt evidence-based and innovative solutions to prevent, rapidly detect, effectively respond to, and ultimately recover from emerging infectious disease threats -whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate. Recognizing the connection between the health of the environment, animals and people, USAID implements the One Health approach (as defined by the WHO Joint External Evaluation 3.0)1, which recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.

Overall purpose of USAID's Global Health Security (GHS) Activity

USAID/KEA would like to understand if the local Kenyan environment has local organizations who can undertake Global Health security activities to strengthen early detection, prediction, and response to infectious diseases in Kenya. USAID/KEA is seeking information from stakeholders on their experience working on any of the below technical areas (as defined by the WHO Joint External Evaluation 3.0):

a) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) which aims at preventing and mitigating emergence of AMR in both the animal and human health sectors;

b) Infection Prevention and Control which aims at targeting healthcare facilities to minimize use of antimicrobials and prevent AMR;

c) Human resources (one health workforce) capacity building which aims at increasing the pool of experts able to predict, detect and respond to infectious diseases threats;

d) Zoonotic diseases which focus on early detection and prevention of spillover of zoonotic diseases from animals to humans;

e) Surveillance of infectious diseases in the animal and human health sectors using the One Health Approach;

f) Risk communication and community engagement to vulnerable communities to prevent and respond to infectious disease threats; and

g) Health emergency management to support communities prepare for, withstand, and recover from public health emergencies.

1 https://www.who.int/emergencies/operations/international-health-regulations-monitoring-evaluation-framework/joint-external-evaluations

ATTACHMENT 2

INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPONDENTS FOR SUBMISSION

Submission of Responses:

Responses (comments, suggestions, and enhancements) to this RFI are due to the USAID/KEA/OAA Points of Contact identified below by February 9, 2024 at 17:00 Nairobi, Kenya Time.

Interested parties shall submit an electronic copy of their responses in either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat formats. No Google documents will be accepted. The agency server is unable to accept *zip files and therefore respondents may not send any files in this format.

Responses to this RFI must be limited to the page numbers specified in each part, using the Format below.

Responses to this RFI will only be acceptable by email to hpnsolicitations@usaid.gov, with the subject title, “USAID/Kenya and East Africa Global Health Security (GHS) Activity - 72061524RFI00002”.

USAID is interested in learning about the capabilities and structure of Kenyan organizations conducting Global Health Security activities in Kenya. The responses you provide will only be used for informational purposes and are NOT intended to be used for selection or evaluation of any organization.

FORMAT FOR RESPONSES TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

Name of Organization: __________________________________

Organization’s Address: _________________________________

Organization’s Point of Contact:

Name: _______________________________________________

Title/Position: _______________________________________________

Phone Number: _______________________________________________

Email Address: _______________________________________________

Organization’s Website (if any): __________________________________________

PART 1

Responses to this part must be limited to no more than 5 pages (inclusive of annexes).

1. Please provide a brief description of your organization’s experience working on any of the below technical areas (as defined by the WHO Joint External Evaluation 3.0):

a. Antimicrobial Resistance

b. Infection and Prevention Control

c. Human resources (one health workforce)

d. Zoonotic diseases

e. Surveillance

f. Risk communication and community engagement

g. Health emergency management

2. Please provide a brief description of your organization’s experience providing technical assistance and capacity strengthening within Kenya on one or more of the aforementioned technical areas. Please indicate priority intervention opportunities and challenges encountered within the technical areas and outcomes from the technical assistance.

PART 2

Responses to this part must be limited to the page number specified in each question or statement, as applicable.

1. If a NOFO or solicitation is issued, is your organization’s interest in submitting an application/proposal to USAID as a prime recipient/contractor and/or a subrecipient/subcontractor?

Prime recipient/contractor Subrecipient/subcontractor Both Prime & Sub

2. Does your organization meet the USAID definition of “local entity”?

Local entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that: 1) is legally organized under the laws of Kenya; 2) has as its principal place of business or operations in Kenya, and 3) is (A) majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Kenya; and (B) managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Kenya – including, but not limited to, private for-profit, private not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations

Yes No Not Sure

Briefly describe why you believe your organization meets the local partner definition:

3. In what year was your organization established?

4. How is your organization registered in Kenya?

Registered as Not currently registered

5. Please provide information on the size of your organization:

a. Number of full-time employees

b. Number of part-time employees

c. Number of offices (if multiple)

d. Approximate total annual operating revenue. Please use an average from the most recent three fiscal years.

< $50,000 $50,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - $749,999

$750,000 - $999,999 $1-5 million >$5,000,000

e. Approximate total general reserves. Please use an average from the most recent three fiscal years.

< $5,000 $5,000 - $49,999 $50,000 - $99,999

$100,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - 499,999 >$500,000

6. Please list the different written organizational policies and procedures that your organization maintains and the year in which the policies and procedures were last reviewed and/or updated. Listed below are some examples, but your organization is not limited to listing only these nor must it list them if it does not have the policies.

Financial Policies and Procedures: 20XX Human Resources Policies and Procedures: 20XX Records Management Policies and Procedures: 20XX Procurement Policies and Procedures: 20XX Cybersecurity or IT Policies and Procedures: 20XX Grant/Subaward Policies and Procedures: 20XX

7. Has your organization ever implemented an activity of similar scope through a grant, cooperative agreement, contract or other mechanism from any donor or funding organization?

Yes No Not Sure

If so, complete the below table, adding or deleting rows as necessary:

Source/Donor Total Award Amount (in

USD)

Duration of award (in years)

Year of start (e.g., 2020)

Year of completion (e.g., 2023)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

8. Does your organization have experience in issuing and managing grants/contracts and/or sub-grants/subcontracts?

Yes No Not Sure

If yes, please provide a range of the values of the subawards/subcontracts that your organization issued.

9. Would your organization have the technical and management skills, capacity, and experience to effectively implement the potential new Global Health Security activity?

Yes No Not Sure

If your answer is Yes or Not Sure, please describe what kind of technical or operational assistance/support that your organization would need to help it gain the right skills and capacity, and over what time frame in terms of months/years? (Maximum 0.5 pages)

Thank you for your contribution to this Request for Information.