Environmental and Social Impact Assessment - Gibe III

Gibe III – Environmental and Social Impact Assessment 300 ENV R CS 002 C - A9003099
information on the prevention of schistosomiasis. Such support and reinforcement of local medical facilities
in providing preventive measures has been found to be lacking in schemes elsewhere in the country, and is
now considered an essential prerequisite to international funding.
Impacts During Construction
Construction is inherently a relatively dangerous industry, and has a number of adverse impacts on public
health and safety unless appropriate mitigation measures are undertaken. Particular concerns include the risk
of increasing the incidence of social and communicable diseases due to the influx of migrant construction
workers, the risk to the workers themselves of contracting malaria, the risk of injury from traffic accidents
and blasting activities.
Of the potential adverse social and health impacts, some of the most serious are the transmission of sexually
transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS. Due to the immigration of workforce to the project area, this risk
is expected to increase from time to time.
Many persons will influx to the project area in search of job opportunities, and these migrant workforces
may bring non-endemic diseases to the project area. This may aggravate the health situations of the
communities of the project area.
In the project areas, which already have relatively poor resources in terms of medical services, the presence
of contractor's workforce can impose additional strains, reducing their effectiveness as far as the local
population is concerned. It is also reasonable to expect that the contractor should exercise a duty of care
towards his workforce in relation to injuries sustained at work.
To mitigate the potential health risks to the construction workers the following measures are recommended:
• Require the Contractor to provide a quality health services to the construction employee’s by
establishing appropriate health facility with subsidiary treatment posts at the local camp and first aid
posts at each construction sites;
• Medical screening and treatment of workers coming from outside the project area;
• Utilisation of preventive and curative measures to reduce transmission of communicable diseases
between the work force and the local population;
• Organise awareness campaign on sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention methods for the
construction works. Workers will be sensitized to the risks, particularly of HIV/AIDS;
• The provision of a safe water supply, good drainage and appropriate sewage and waste disposal and
treatment facilities on the site;
• Sanitation and hygiene education to the workforce and the community;
• Institute anti-malaria measures following current accepted practice at campsites and facilities
established for the early diagnosis and treatment of patients with the disease;
• An active surveillance network to facilitate the detection of fever cases. The efficiency of the
surveillance system and the timely examination of blood slides/films and treatment are the crucial
components of malaria control programme;
• Require the Contractor to provide to construction camp buildings mosquito proof facilities;
• The prime means of controlling malaria in construction camps is the use of bed nets. Levels of
human infection have dropped dramatically since impregnated bed-nets (IBN) were introduced.
Therefore, provide as much as possible pyrethroid-treated mosquito nets;
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