R -- Strengthening Social Acceptance of Family Planning in the Philippines: A Communication and Advocacy Program

See Upload 1-1, Cover Letter and Solicitation. NAICS: 541690, Numbered/Non-Numbered Note(s): Do Not Apply and Order of Magnitude Threshold: (Estimated) $10M. RFP No. 492-92-008 Strengthening Social Acceptance of Family Planning in the Philippines: A Communications and Advocacy Program. Amendment No. 2 1. On Section I, Contract Clauses, incorporate in full AIDAR 752.7016, Family Planning and Population Assistance Activities (Aug 1986) as follows: ?I.9. AIDAR 752.7016 FAMILY PLANNING AND POPULATION ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES (AUG 1986) (a) Voluntary Participation. (1) The Contractor agrees to take any steps necessary to ensure that funds made available under this contract will not be used to coerce any individual to practice methods of family planning inconsistent with such individual's moral, philosophical, or religious beliefs. Further, the Contractor agrees to conduct its activities in a manner, which safeguards the rights, health and welfare of all individuals who take part in the program. (2) Activities which provide family planning services or information to individuals, financed in whole or in part under this contract, shall provide a broad range of family planning methods and services available in the country which the activity is conducted or shall provide information to such individuals regarding where such methods and services may be obtained. (b) Prohibition on Abortion-related Activities. No funds made available under this Contract shall be used to finance, support, or be attributed to the following activities: (i) Procurement or distribution of equipment intended to be used for the purposes of inducing abortions as a method of family planning: (ii) special fees or incentives to women to coerce or motivate them to have abortions; (iii) payments to persons to perform abortions or to solicit persons to undergo abortions; (iv) information, education, training, or communication programs that seek to promote abortion as a method of family planning; (v) any biomedical research which relates, in whole or in part, to methods of, or the performance of, abortions or involuntary sterilization as a means of family planning (epidemiologic or descriptive research to assess the incidence, extent or consequences of abortion is not precluded); or (vi) lobbying for abortion. (c) Voluntary Participation Requirements for Sterilization Programs. (1) None of the funds made available under this contract shall be used to pay for the performance of involuntary sterilization or to coerce or provide any financial incentive to any person to practice sterilization. (2) The Contractor shall insure that any surgical sterilization procedures supported in whole or in part by funds from the contract are performed only after the individual has voluntarily come to the treatment facility and has given an informed consent to the sterilization procedure. Informed consent means the voluntary knowing assent from the individual given after being advised of the surgical procedures to be followed, the attendant discomforts and risks, the benefits to be expected, the availability of alternative methods of family planning, the purpose of the operation and its irreversibility, and the fact that the consent can be withdrawn at any time prior to the operation. An individual's consent is considered voluntary if it is based upon the exercise of free choice and is not obtained by any special inducement or any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress or other forms of coercion or misrepresentation. (3) Further, the Contractor shall document the patient's informed consent by: (i) A written consent document in a language the patient understands and speaks, which explains the basic elements of informed consent, as set out above, and which is signed by the individual and by the attending physician or by the authorized assistant of the attending physician; or (ii) when a patient is unable to readadequately a written certification signed by the attending physician or by the authorized assistant of the attending physician that the basic elements of informed consent above were orally presented to the patient, and that the patient thereafter consented to the performance of the operation. The receipt of the oral explanation shall be acknowledged by the patient's mark on the certification and by the signature or mark of the witness who shall be of the same sex and speak the same language as the patient. (4) Copies of the informed consent forms and certification documents for each voluntary sterilization (VS) procedure must be retained by the performing Contractor or subcontractor for a period of three years after the performance of the sterilization procedure. (d) The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause in any subgrants, subcontracts, purchase orders, and other subordinate agreements hereunder whenever appropriate to the goods and services to be provided under such agreements. 2. Response to additional Questions received: Q.1. Will winning organizations be obligated to ask partner organizations in the Philippines to certify that they do not address, advocate for, or provide abortion under the Global prohibition rule? A.1. Yes. All clauses applicable to the prime contractor flows down to its subcontractors and partner organizations. Please note that AIDAR 752.7016, Family Planning and Population Assistance Activities (AUG 1986), has been incorporated into the RFP through this Amendment. Q.2. Should our communication and advocacy program target geographic areas with the highest population growth rates or cover the entire country? A.2. No, the program is intended to be national in scope. However, during implementation, depending upon the situational analysis, it may be necessary to focus on selected geographic areas. Q.3. The third activity listed under Section C.IV.A (page 9) focuses on improving the knowledge and attitude of health care providers towards family planning. In designing training activities for this population, are there certain USAID-affiliated provider networks we should target? A.3. No, there are none. We envision family planning to be part of the routine health service package that all health providers will offer their clients, be they public or private, program-funded or not. Q.4. Procedures for obtaining authorization concerning communications products that may exceed $25,000. A.4. Considering the nature of this Communications and Advocacy Program, communication products shall be authorized under the contract. Approval for such products (e.g., printed materials, photographic services or video production services) that may exceed $25,000 will be obtained from the LPA. Q.5. Is it possible to send the proposals via FedEx or DHL? A.5. Yes, proposals may be sent to the Office of Regional Procurement, USAID/Philippines, through courier services, but must be received before closing time and date, April 26, 2002 at 3:00pm, to be considered.