Steve Peacock's U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor

USAID/Zimbabwe Seeks Malaria Advisor

The infusion of an additional $12 million this year toward the President’s Malaria Initiative in Zimbabwe will require the deployment of a Malaria Advisor to coordinate U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts in that nation. Consequently, the agency is looking to hire a private vendor to fill that position via a Personal Services Contract. According to the solicitation:

Recently, the financial resources typically available to the USAID/Zimbabwe health program totaled around $50 million of assistance annually, with over $40 million of this coming from HIV/AIDS funding… The USAID/Zimbabwe Malaria Advisor shall provide specialized, senior-level technical expertise in malaria, as well as leadership, guidance and overall direction on the development and execution of the PMI…

The closing date for the position, which pays in the $84,697-$110,104 range, is Aug. 30.

Source document: Solicitation #613-11-003.

U.S. Seeks New Means of Predicting Internet Growth Overseas, from Albania to Zimbabwe

The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is looking for a contractor capable of developing a new analytical model to predict Internet usage and growth in thirty-two foreign nations, from "A" (Albania) to "Z" (Zimbabwe).

The agency, which runs U.S. government-funded international broadcasting systems such as Voice of America and Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television of the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, said in a Statement of Work (Solicitation #BBG50-R-11-0020) that existing models for predicting growth are inadequate. The SOW said those models solely focus on specific technology sectors rather than the Internet in its entirety:

The ultimate goal is to estimate, using empirical data, the expansion of the number of unique individuals using the Internet on a weekly basis in these markets over the next five years. While various organizations have produced such estimates and prejections for sub-segments of the Internet market, such as mobile Internet use or fixed line broadband, BBG requires estimates of the growth of the entire Internet market, regardless of platform, including use via public access facilities.

Although the BBG attempted to justifiy why it wants a new predictive model, it did not specify why it needs -- nor what it intends to do -- with such a new mode of analysis. The agency said it would apply the model to Internet usage in the following nations: Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam,  Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The BBG said the selected contractor should be able to complete the work within an eight-week period. It did not offer an estimated cost of the project.

The Monitor Celebrates 10,000 Page-Views

As the editor of U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor, I once again wish to thank all those readers from around the globe who continue to visit this site. It is with great delight to report that the Monitor this week exceeded the 10,000 page-view mark in its brief three-month existence. In terms of relative magnitude, to you that figure likely doesn't elicit a jaw-dropping response, yet the figure is significant for a one-man, part-time operation taking place at the Shore of New Jersey (and, yes, I intentionally avoided using the term “Jersey Shore” to avoid connecting with or riding upon the success of the popular but moronic TV show of that name—a show that is, unfortunately, filmed not far from my location).

Before I continue, please note that the Monitor never has, never does, nor will ever collect or distribute personally identifying information from visitors/readers. The information I am now sharing via this post primarily comes from Google Analytics, which assesses the general source of traffic to this site (i.e.: country of origin, referring web pages, Internet Service Providers, etc.) as well through the TypePad service that hosts the Monitor.  In other words, unless you identify yourself when posting comments (which I encourage people to do), you remain anonymous to me.

Anyhow, having inserted that critical addendum, I first want to express continued thanks to John Young from Cryptome.org, who regularly posts links to Monitor articles. Cryptome, an excellent repository of national security and law enforcement-related information plus hard-to-find government documents, is responsible for driving significant Internet traffic my way.

That may or may not be the reason that a handful of visitors from the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, the U.S. State Dept., the U.S. Dept. of Justice, and a few other federal entities have made their way to the Monitor. It could be that I have annoyed a few bureaucrats along the way by uncovering projects or conflicts of interest that they would rather I keep quiet about.

Ironically, I have gotten quite a few visitors from two sides on opposite end of the political spectrum: FreeRepublic.com on the right, and BuzzFlash.com on the left. It just goes to show that wasteful government spending is a topic of concern for everyone, no matter whether you blame President Obama for the world’s problems or if you seek salvation through him!

Likewise, I welcome the many worldwide visitors whom have made their way to the Monitor. Though the bulk of traffic comes from the U.S., with a growing number of readers from other primarily English-speaking nations such as England, Canada, and Australia, other readers have come from places including Pakistan, Italy, Mexico, Germany, France, India, China, and Russia—with a smaller numbers of visitors coming from places (93 countries and territories in all) ranging from Iran to Sudan and from Argentina to Zimbabwe!

If you like this site, please let people know about it. Simply click the Facebook thumbs-up icon near the top right-hand corner of this page (located near the Amazon.com link to my memoir, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze) and let your friends know about the Monitor.

One final note: if you wish to redistribute Monitor articles, I urge you, for instance, only to post the title, an excerpt (i.e.: the first paragraph or two), and a direct link to the article of interest. I recently discovered that one blog actually took one of my articles, reworded it with a level of creativity emblematic of a lazy, plagiarizing 14-year-old the night before a term paper is due, and re-posted as its own work! The thief actually posted accompanying links to the source documents as if that person, and not I, had painstakingly researched and discovered those resources for the article.

Such copyright infringement will not be tolerated, folks.

So, ending on a more positive note, please feel free to share what the Monitor has to offer, but do so with respect for the copyright owner.

Come back soon, even you folks at DHS!

-- Steve Peacock

USAID New Briefs; June 24, 2011

CHEMONICS SECURES MONGOLIAN ECONOMIC-GROWTH CONTRACT

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently awarded an $18.2 million contract to Chemonics International, Inc., to carry out its "Business Plus Initiative" in Mongolia. Chemonics will be tasked with promoting economic growth in Mongolia by carrying out four primary duties over the course of the five-year endeavor:  (1) Implementation of Business Enabling Policies; (2) Private Sector Investment Support; (3)  Financial Sector Deepening Support; (4) Public Outreach and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation.

USAID REDUCES SCOPE OF AZERBAIJAN PROJECT

USAID has decided to scale back a proposed $10 million healthcare initiative in the Central Asian nation of Azerbaijan (Solicitation #SOL-112-11-000004). The "Azerbaijan Strengthening Health Systems through Integrated Programs" initiative, or AZ-SHIP, "has been reconfigured as a much smaller in scope, funding and time activity," USAID said today in an amendment to a Feb. 18 solicitation.  "Given the extent of changes to the program, USAID has determined that it will be best implemented through assistance.  Consequesntly, a Request for Proposals will not be issued.  The agency instead will post future "assistance opportunities"  to the federal government's grants.gov website.

USAID-ZIMBABWE SEEKS PHYSICIAN

As part of USAID"s $50 million healthcare program in Zimbabwe, the agency is seeking to hire a Health Development Physician for its team (Solicitation #613-11-001). The position offers a $99,628-$129,517 annual salary range via a two-year contract with extensions options.

USAID-CAMBODIA STILL SEARCHING FOR PROJECT OFFICER

USAID continues to seek candidates for a Project Development Officer who would be stationed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The agency this week readvertised the personnel services contract notice (Solicitation #442-11-001-RFP) for the slot, which pays an annual salary in the $84,697 - $110,104 range.  The selected candidate would help to  plan, assess, and monitor USAID programs in this Southeast Asian nation.

$100 MILLION PHILIPPINES PROJECT NEED SENIOR ADVISOR

USAID-Manila is seeking a Senior Rural Development Advisor for The Philippines, where the selected candidate would help to manage the $100 million Growth with Equity in Mindanao II, or GEM II, initiative. (Solicitation # SOL-492-11-000012). The one-year position pays an annual salary in the $99,628-$129,517 range.