CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CARRY OUT AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON MVD RESPONSE PROJECT

TERMS OF REFERENCE

CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CARRY OUT AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON MVD RESPONSE PROJECT.

Introduction

Water For People has secured funds from USAID to finance the WASH Response to Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) Outbreak Project, a 6-month Rwanda Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activity. The MVD project will operate in nine districts: Gasabo, Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, Kayonza, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Nyanza, Kamonyi, and Ngororero.

The overall goal of this MVD WASH Response Project is to contribute to national efforts to prevent the transmission of MVD through enhanced WASH services in health facilities and public places. This will be achieved through three specific objectives as follow:

Improve WASH services in health facilities and public places through the construction and/or repair of existing WASH facilities.Promote handwashing practices in health facilities and public places through social and behavior change (SBC) strategies.Support the development of a sustainable management framework for WASH facilities in health facilities and public places.

The activities for the infrastructure development component are the following:

The Project will construct, rehabilitate, or extend existing systems to provide water for drinking and handwashing facilities in these healthcare facilities.Kageyo Health Center in Ngororero DistrictSovu Health Center in Ngororero DistrictNyakabingo Health Center in Kayonza DistrictRwimbogo Health Center in Gatsibo DistrictNduba Health Center in Gasabo DistrictKiziguro Hospital in Gatsibo DistrictThe Project will connect at least 40 health centers with the required intra-facility water supply connections required for infection prevention and control (IPC).The Project will construct 30 new hand-washing facilities and will rehabilitate 35 existing non-and partial functional handwashing facilities as follows:20 new handwashing facilities will be constructed at health centers5 new handwashing facilities will be constructed at bus stations5 new handwashing facilities will be constructed at markets25 existing handwashing facilities will be rehabilitated in health centers5 existing handwashing facilities will be rehabilitated at bus stations5 existing handwashing facilities will be rehabilitated at markets

The project will upgrade or rehabilitate existing toilet facilities with SATO pans at the health centers and public places as follows:

87 toilets will be upgraded at health centers17 will be upgraded at bus stations39 toilets will be upgraded at markets4 toilets will be upgraded at border posts

In compliance with USAID regulations and Rwandan Government laws, particularly Law N°48/2018 of 13/08/2018 and Ministerial Order No 001/ 2019 of 15/04/2019, an essential requirement before the construction or rehabilitation of WSS is conducting an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).

With this objective in mind, Water for People is seeking to engage a consultancy firm to conduct a comprehensive ESIA for all infrastructure development. This assessment aligns with the specified scope of work outlined below.

Objective of the consultancy

The overall objective of the consultancy is to ensure compliance with the national environmental legislation as well as USAID’s environmental protection regulations. The consultancy firm will identify potential social and environmental impacts (positive and negative) and design measures to prevent, reduce, and/or mitigate the negative impacts of the proposed activities.

The specific objectives include the following:

To determine the potential environmental and social impact of the planned construction and rehabilitation of water supply systems; installation of intra-facility water supply connections required for IPC in health centers; construction and rehabilitation of hand washing facilities in health centers, market, bus stations, and border posts; upgrade or rehabilitate existing toilet facilities.To propose mitigation measures that will effectively address any identified negative impacts.To prepare an ESIA and Environmentand Social Management and Monitoring Plan (ESMMP) according to the national and USAID guidelines and regulations.To provide an ESIA certificate issued by RDB for the construction/ rehabilitation works.Provide a Water Quality Assurance Plan as per USAID guidelines.

Detailed information will be provided to the successful consultants or firm.

Scope of work

The ESIA will be carried out for all infrastructure development as follows:

Six (6) water networks need construction, extension, and/or rehabilitation.Forty (40) intra-facility water supply connections are required for an effective IPC mechanism in those health centers.Thirty (30) new handwashing facilities in health centers, bus stations, and markets need constructionThirty-five (35) existing handwashing facilities in health centers, bus stations and markets need rehabilitationOne hundred forty-seven (147) toilets in health centers and other public places that need partial rehabilitation.

Specific tasks

Preparation of the ESIA will include the following elements and activities:

Literature reviewIdentify data availability and gaps for conducting the assessment.Review existing WASH status in health centers and public places in Rwanda in regard to an effective IPC mechanismDetermine the extent of additional data collection required to ensure the qualitative depth of this study and the steps required (site visits, interviews, literature review, etc.)Review USAID and GoR ESIA/ESMMP formats that must be used when submitting the deliverables.Description of the projectA detailed description of the project, which will identify the specific environmental and social issues related to it, including all risks and health and safety aspects.Analysis of alternatives considered to reduce or eliminate negative environmental and social impacts, including the “no action” alternative. Factors will…