RFI USAID Water Security and Sustainable Services Activity_English Final (1).pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Date Issued: June 28, 2021 Issued by Marie-Judie Cherubin Issued through: www.beta.sam.gov and www.grants.gov Issuing Contracting Officer: Edel Perez Closing Date: July 28, 2021

Reference: Request for Information (RFI) 72052121R00021

USAID/Haiti is in the process of designing a new activity or set of activities to support sustainable water and sanitation services in Haiti, particularly for vulnerable populations. We are seeking public COMMENTS on the questions below to inform the design process.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY, issued solely for information and planning purposes, and responses do not constitute a proposal. It is not a solicitation and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government or USAID to issue any solicitation or to ultimately award a contract or assistance agreement on the basis of this RFI.

If a Solicitation is issued, it will be announced publicly later, and all interested parties must respond to that Solicitation announcement separately from any response to this announcement.

Responses to this RFI are strictly voluntary and USAID will not pay respondents for the information provided in response to this RFI. Information, comments, and suggestions received will be reviewed and may be incorporated into future solicitation(s), but USAID will not provide direct response to any individual submissions and will not publicly release the responses.

This RFI does not restrict the Government’s approach on a future solicitation. No decision has been made regarding the number of awards or the type of instruments that will be used (e.g., acquisition or assistance). For this reason, this RFI will be posted on both the Federal grants website, www.grants.gov and the Contract Opportunities website at www.beta.sam.gov. Responses to this RFI shall be sent via e-mail to usaidhaitioaa@usaid.gov no later than the Closing Date listed above.

http://www.beta.sam.gov/ http://www.beta.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.beta.sam.gov/ http://www.beta.sam.gov/ mailto:usaidhaitioaa@usaid.gov mailto:usaidhaitioaa@usaid.gov

Response Requirements

Responses should include the following:

1. Cover page, not to exceed one (1) page, that includes:

a. Organization name and address

b. Point of contact name and contact information

c. Size and type of organization, including, if applicable, U.S. small business or other status

d. DUNS number (if available)

e. Brief statement of interest that indicates the organization’s potential interest in applying as a prime or subcontractor to a future USAID solicitation in water and/or sanitation.

f. Whether your organization is a “New Partner”, or “Underutilized Partner” as defined in the New Partnerships Initiative.

2. USAID invites the public to submit comments, suggestions, and other information for consideration regarding its approach to WASH research. Comments are not to exceed three

(3) pages. No pages beyond this limit will be reviewed. Responders do not have to address all the questions mentioned below and are encouraged to respond to only the questions in areas of greatest interest or potential contribution.

3. Local, regional, and international organizations, colleges and universities, community organizations and private companies with demonstrated and relevant experience in water services, water resource management and sanitation are particularly encouraged to respond to this RFI.

No other documents or information are requested at this time. USAID asks respondents to not send any additional information other than what is requested above and to adhere to the page limits mentioned.

https://www.usaid.gov/npi/npi-key-definitions

USAID/Haiti Water Security and Sustainable Sanitation Activities Introduction USAID/Haiti is seeking information to inform the design of its new activities aimed at expanding sustainable water and sanitation services to vulnerable populations in Haiti. New activities will most likely be divided into (1) a water security activity that supports public and private sector water service provision and improved water resources management and (2) a market-based sanitation activity. Each of these activities are anticipated to be five years.

Background According to the latest Demographic and Human Development Survey 2016-2017 (EMMUS 2016-2017), 25 percent of people in Haiti have no access to improved water sources (45 percent in rural and 8 percent in urban areas). Furthermore, many of those with access to water are relying on non-piped water (bottled and trucked water). Haiti’s National Water and Sanitation Directorate (DINEPA) has committed to achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all Haitians by 2030. As public utilities are currently providing services to only 10 percent of the population, significant work is needed to expand these services, alongside support to the private sector and other actors in the water sector.

Only one in four households has access to an adequate station to wash their hands with soap, and 24 percent of households still practice open defecation (34 percent in rural and 8 percent in urban areas). Throughout Haiti, only 34 percent of the population has a private, safe latrine at their household. In both urban and rural areas, the population mostly relies on individual on-site sanitation solutions, as sewerage systems and treatment are practically non-existent across the country. However, the availability of high quality, affordable sanitation products and emptying services for these on-site sanitation facilities is limited.

Projected changes in climate, including increased temperatures, prolonged drought, and increased storm surge, will impact the improvement and development of water and sanitation services.1 Increased flooding and extreme storms damage and overwhelm existing infrastructure and prolonged drought impacts the availability of water. Integrating climate information and climate adaptation actions is necessary to ensure the future resilience and sustainability of water and sanitation services within the country. In addition, population growth is putting increasing pressure on both water and sanitation services. Additionally, the chronic political crisis, paralyzing violent protests and insecurity issues (kidnapping and gang violence), the global pandemic of COVID-192 combined with vulnerability to hurricanes, cyclones, and floods3 have all hindered progress in accelerating climate resilient and inclusive access to sustainable water and sanitation services.

The World Bank estimates that women make up 50.6 percent of the Haitian population.4 The U.S.

Agency for International Development in Haiti (USAID/Haiti) estimates that nearly half of Haitian

1 https://www.climatelinks.org/sites/default/files/asset/document/2017_Cadmus_Climate-Risk-Profile_Haiti.pdf 2 U.S. Department of State. Travel Advisory: Haiti (April 7, 2021 Alert).

3 USAID. Climate Links. Haiti at a Glance.

4 The World Bank. Population, Female (% of total population) – Haiti.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/haiti-travel-advisory.html https://www.climatelinks.org/countries/haiti https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=HT households are women-led.5 With these estimates, Haitian women are significantly disproportionate to, and are most vulnerable to the burden, the health risks and gender-based violence consequences of living without a toilet or access to a safe water supply.

Since the creation of DINEPA and decentralization of water and sanitation institutions began in 2009, there has been significant progress in sector governance. Regional Offices Régionaux de l'Eau Potable et de l'Assainissement (OREPAs) are in place and play an important role in monitoring and managing water services. Twenty-four Centres Techniques d’Exploitation (CTEs), also part of DINEPA, are in charge of delivering water in urban areas with populations of more than 10,000. And in rural areas, local water committees (CAEPAs) have legal status for delivering water and are allowed to delegate responsibilities to the private sector. However, the capacities and governance arrangements needed for fully decentralized water service delivery are still lacking at subnational levels. In addition, the WASH sector is still heavily reliant on donor funding, and new sources for financing are urgently needed.

For rural sanitation, there also exists the political appetite at the level of DINEPA, to create demand for sanitation services and explore and improve the sanitation supply chains. In 2014, DINEPA developed the 2014-2018 National Strategy. The strategy has not yet been translated into practice lacking clear operational guidelines, tools and standards creating leverage points to influence the roadmap to sustainable sanitation services in Haiti vis-a-vis this proposed activity.

Since 2017, USAID, through the Water and Sanitation project, has been working to lay the foundation for sustainable, safe, and affordable water and sanitation services. USAID supports infrastructure projects that expand access to water and sanitation services, while also building local capacity to provide ongoing operations and maintenance of sector institutions and facilities. This project has worked primarily with CTEs, OREPAs, the private sector and civil society organizations to improve service delivery.

Activity Objectives The overall goal of the set of activities is to expand sustainable water and sanitation services to vulnerable populations in Haiti.

Water Security Activity: The purpose of this activity is to support Haiti’s decentralized water utilities and strengthen the business operations and service delivery capacity of public and private water service providers.

Illustrative objectives in support of this purpose may include:

● Improving the operations of public and private water service providers

● Protecting the water resource base that underpins sustainable water services

● Increasing finance available to the water sector from public and private sources

● Improving water sector governance, regulation, and monitoring

● Enhancing capacity of women to influence water sector discourse through leadership roles in the public and private WASH sector

5 USAID/Haiti. Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment.

https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/gender-equity-and-womens-empowerment#:%7E:text=Nearly%20half%20of%20Haitian%20households,%2Dbased%20violence%20(GBV).

Sanitation Activity: The purpose of this activity is to strengthen local markets and increase accessible financing for improved and sustainable sanitation and hygiene services and products.

Illustrative objectives in support of this purpose may include:

● Creating and/or expanding market-based solutions for affordable household sanitation and hygiene products and services.

● Introducing and/or scaling up financial products for sanitation enterprises and household purchases.

● Improving performance and creditworthiness of sanitation businesses and entrepreneurs;

and

● Assessing/piloting approaches to formalize and professionalize women-owned businesses into creditworthy business enterprises.

Geographic Scope. As USAID/Haiti is still in the planning stage, the exact locations for the set of activities are not yet determined. However, preliminary data and to build on existing activities, USAID suggests the following locations as most vulnerable and possible targets for these activities:

● Water: Communal utilities that were part of the USAID WATSAN Activity (Belladere, Cap-Haitien, Croix des Bouquets, Hinche, Jeremie, Les Cayes, Mirebalais, Ouanaminthe);

also, to expand work to new communal utilities in the areas with high levels of investment, particularly in USAID/Haiti’s designated resilience focus zones (RFZ) in the North, Northeast, South and Grand Anse Departments of Haiti.

● Sanitation: Croix-des-Bouquets, Jérémie, Limonade, and Private Sector-Identified geographic opportunities that offer scale in meeting targets.

USAID seeks information in response to the following questions to inform activity design:

Stakeholders are free to submit responses to any or all the following questions. In answering any or all of the questions, please consider, as applicable, how USAID can work effectively with the government at all levels as well as with local actors, including the private sector, banks and large water users (e.g., beer companies/factories), to achieve the objectives of the Activity. Certain questions may transverse both water and sanitation or may just apply to one sub-sector.

Comments are not to exceed three (3) pages.

1. Water Security: What are the most effective or promising models to expand access to reliable, sustainable piped water services for vulnerable populations? Please limit the answer to approaches relevant to one or more of the following:

○ Willingness to pay and efficient tariff collection

○ Affordability and equity of access to water services

○ Methods to increase legal household water connections

○ Capacity building needs for water service providers

○ Differences between urban (CTE-managed) water systems and rural (CAEPA-managed) water systems

○ Role and potential for private sector and women engagement in delivering water services

2. Sustainable Sanitation: What are the cost-effective and localized approaches that USAID, the Government of Haiti and households in Haiti should consider creating a sustainable sanitation market and increase uptake of household sanitation? Please limit the answer to approaches relevant to one or more of the following:

○ Sanitation solutions for densely populated areas and renters

○ Solutions for emptying latrines as well as ensuring household sanitation

○ Affordability and equity of access to sanitation products and services to meet the needs of both women and men

3. WASH Sector Governance: What laws, regulations, policies, or capacities could elevate the ability of relevant government entities to monitor, regulate and enforce and deliver safe, sustainable drinking water and sanitation services, and how can civil society (including women) engagement be leveraged to improve sector governance?

4. Mobilizing Finance for WASH: What are potential viable alternatives to foreign aid for sustainably financing water and sanitation service improvements in Haiti, including innovative financing vehicles, local commercial financing, and domestic resources? What examples exist in Haiti, regionally, and/or globally that could be appropriate for Haiti?

5. Water Resources Management: What geographic region(s) in Haiti are water resources for drinking water services most under threat from climate change (e.g. drought, salt water-intrusion, diversion, etc.) and pollution?

6. Gender: How can this set of activities elevate the leadership role of women in water service delivery, water resource management and the commercial sanitation market, in public service as well as at household level?

7. Climate Change: What are strategic approaches to accelerate climate resilient, low-emissions water and sanitation services that could both enhance and leverage local knowledge and climate science?