Notice of Postponement / Conducting an In-depth Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) / Construction of the Bondoukou National Institute for Health Personnel Training (INFAS) branch located in the Gontougo administrative region in Eastern Côte d’Ivoire

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST CONSULTANT SERVICES Expressions of Interest The Ministry of Health, Public Hygiene, and Universal Health Coverage (MSHPCMU) has obtained funds under the 3rd Debt Reduction and Development Contract (C2D) between France and Côte d’Ivoire, managed on the French side by the French Development Agency (AFD), and intends to use part of these funds to make payments for intellectual services, the subject of this expression of interest. This expression of interest is addressed to the following entities: - Study offices - NGOs and Study offices in consortium The State of Côte d’Ivoire, through the MSHPCMU, plans to construct the branch of the National Institute for Health Personnel Training (INFAS) in Bondoukou, located in the Gontougo administrative region in Eastern Côte d’Ivoire. The construction is planned on a plot of approximately twelve (12) hectares, and the total usable area (SU) of the project is estimated at 12,700 m². Adjacent to the University of Bondoukou, the site is on a plateau with a relatively gentle slope and a low-lying area containing a seasonal water reservoir that dries up during the dry season. With ferralitic soil, the site, which is private property, is dominated by herbaceous vegetation and shrubs. It mainly consists of cashew trees, mango trees, and palm trees, with existing cashew plantations. No sacred sites have been identified on the site, and according to information gathered from the populations and stakeholders, there are none. This infrastructure will contribute to correcting regional imbalances in functional health facilities and sustainably improving the availability of qualified personnel. The implementation of the Project, like any intervention causing environmental and social changes, may generate impacts on the biophysical and human components that must be anticipated, assessed, and managed. In this perspective, an environmental and social screening was carried out upstream to identify the category (A, B, or C) of activities and determine the associated environmental and social requirements. Following this screening, the Project was classified as Category A due, in particular, to: (i) the destruction of significant ecological potential and the disruption of local ecological balances, and (ii) involuntary economic displacement with disruption of livelihoods due to the presence of an ongoing family farming operation, mainly consisting of producing cashew plantations and other fruit trees. In accordance with the provisions of decree n°2024-595 of June 26, 2024, which sets the rules and procedures applicable to environmental and social assessments, this classification requires an In-depth Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), accompanied by an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP). To this end, and to ensure the effective consideration of environmental and social safeguard requirements, the services of a qualified Consultant are necessary. This consultant will be involved in carrying out the ESIA, in accordance with current regulations and applicable standards, through a set of specific missions. The World Bank Health-Nutrition Projects Coordination Unit (UCPS-BM), under the supervision of the MSHPCMU, hereby invites qualified consultants to express their interest in providing the services described above. Eligibility criteria for AFD financing are specified in Article 1.3 of the "Directives for Procurement financed by AFD in Foreign States," available online on the AFD website www.afd.fr. Interested consultants must provide information demonstrating that they are qualified and experienced to perform these services. To this end, they must demonstrate that they have references for recent and similar services within the last ten (10) years (as of January 1, 2015). References will be presented in the format proposed in Annex 1.