RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (October 21, 2002) ---- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded Family Health International (FHI) and its partners $35 million to lead a five-year program in the Dominican Republic to address health issues in family planning, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, maternal mortality, child survival and health sector reform.

Over the past several years, the government of the Dominican Republic has made great strides in developing legislation and plans for a new health care system. However, the service delivery system is not prepared to address the growing challenges of HIV/AIDS, problems in health facilities that contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes, and childhood immunizations that are not routinely provided.

FHI will implement the program, called ConectaSalud, through a partnership with U.S.-based Abt Associates Inc. and the Dominican firm Agencia Latinoamericana de Expertos en Planificacion H (ALEPH), in collaboration with numerous local community organizations

"This award provides us with a tremendous opportunity to work with local service providers to address the comprehensive and critical health needs of vulnerable populations. It also allows us to bring important 'lessons learned' in other parts of Latin America to the Dominican Republic," says Peter R. Lamptey, M.D., Dr.P.H., president of FHI's Institute for HIV/AIDS. FHI now operates health programs in such countries as El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru, as well as the Caribbean region.

TheConectaSalud team will bring together experts in management and administration, with specialists in HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health and family planning, behavior change and communication, medical education, policy and advocacy, human services research, strengthening of public and nongovernmental sectors, and commodities logistics. The program's strategies in designing, planning, implementing and monitoring are:

• Policy and structural reform – translating gains in health reform into concrete policy
• Continuity of care – integrating and actively referring between services where feasible
• Demand and community mobilization – mobilizing communities to demand and use quality health services
• Performance improvement – improving provider performances through training and interventions
• Sustainability and partnership – linking public and private services

"Nongovernmental, community-based and faith-based organizations will be key to the successful implementation of these innovative activities to maximize Dominicans' use of the health system," says Beverly Tucker, M.P.H., M.P.I.A., associate director of planning and development for FHI. "For the most part, we expect to implement the strategies through local entities."

FHI has more than 30 years of experience developing and managing complex, multi-country programs in family planning research, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV/AIDS prevention and care, adolescent and maternal health, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic information dissemination. With corporate headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., FHI operates management centers in Washington, D.C., Bangkok and Nairobi and implements programs through offices in more than 40 countries, closely collaborating with national ministries of health, community-based organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and various other agencies. For more information about FHI and its work, please visit its web site, www.fhi.org.

Abt Associates Inc. (Abt) is a client-focused, mission-driven, employee-owned company, and is one of the largest government and business research and consulting firms in the world. Abt works in many markets and sectors including poverty alleviation, child and family services, community and development, social support systems and workforce development. More information about Abt Associates is available at: www.abtassoc.com.

Agencia Latinoamericana de Expertos en Planificacion H (ALEPH) is a Dominican private consulting firm devoted to sustainable institutional development and participatory strategic planning. ALEPH is widely recognized for providing technical assistance principally to NGOs that work in maternal and child health, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS/STIs.