Half of the Population in Central African Republic Is in Dire Need of Humanitarian Assistance
Yaoundé, 16 March 2017 – The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate in the Central African Republic (CAR). With the upsurge in violence and the spread of hot spots since September 2016 up to the first quarter of 2017, more than 100,000 newly displaced people have been registered, bringing the number of IDPs to 402,240 in the country. This implies that one in every five Central Africans is either displaced internally or is a refugee in neighboring countries.
While this situation has created new and urgent needs, funding for humanitarian action has been on a downward trend since 2014. To date only 5% the requirements (19 million) of the 399.5 million dollars requested in the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for CAR have been met. In 2016, only 37 per cent of the $ 531.5 million requested were mobilized. In this context, CAR remains the country with the highest case load per capita globally given that half of its population is in need of humanitarian aid. “Let us not leave Central African Republic to become a forgotten or neglected crisis by the International Community”, said the Minister of Humanitarian, Social Affairs and National Reconciliation, Virginie Baikoua and the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for CAR, Michel Yao, at a briefing session for donors on the humanitarian situation held on 15 March 2017 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
While progress has been made in the humanitarian circle, 2.2 million Central Africans which represents half of the population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. “The Central African Republic remains a top priority for the humanitarian community,” recalled Michel Yao. The downward trend in funding levels has resulted in a tangible decrease in humanitarian assistance; both qualitative and quantitative terms. The provision of half food rations to the needy people is one of the consequences.
Humanitarian actors continue to review their geographical presence in the country due to deficit funding.
It should be noted that aid workers are major contributors to the delivery of basic social services. The decrease of the humanitarian activities is deplorable, in the health and education sectors among others. By 2016, the latest survey showed that 56% of health infrastructure is managed by humanitarian actors.
The investments made are likely to go to a waste if there are no adequate funding levels. This risks the country plunging into an acute humanitarian crisis situation. In this regard, Michel Yao and Virginie Baikoua reiterated their call for continued generosity of donors to better respond to the new needs. This will also allow partners to respond to new and protracted emergencies in the country. “Such will help us to rewrite a new narrative to the rest of the world and a new hope for the Central Africans” concluded Virginie Baikoua.
For more information, please contact OCHA CAR Joseph Inganji, Head of Office, +236 70738730, inganji@un.org Yaye Nabo Séne, Chief, Public Information + 236 70 08 75 65, seney@un.org Press releases are available on www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.
While this situation has created new and urgent needs, funding for humanitarian action has been on a downward trend since 2014. To date only 5% the requirements (19 million) of the 399.5 million dollars requested in the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for CAR have been met. In 2016, only 37 per cent of the $ 531.5 million requested were mobilized. In this context, CAR remains the country with the highest case load per capita globally given that half of its population is in need of humanitarian aid. “Let us not leave Central African Republic to become a forgotten or neglected crisis by the International Community”, said the Minister of Humanitarian, Social Affairs and National Reconciliation, Virginie Baikoua and the Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for CAR, Michel Yao, at a briefing session for donors on the humanitarian situation held on 15 March 2017 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
While progress has been made in the humanitarian circle, 2.2 million Central Africans which represents half of the population, is in need of humanitarian assistance. “The Central African Republic remains a top priority for the humanitarian community,” recalled Michel Yao. The downward trend in funding levels has resulted in a tangible decrease in humanitarian assistance; both qualitative and quantitative terms. The provision of half food rations to the needy people is one of the consequences.
Humanitarian actors continue to review their geographical presence in the country due to deficit funding.
It should be noted that aid workers are major contributors to the delivery of basic social services. The decrease of the humanitarian activities is deplorable, in the health and education sectors among others. By 2016, the latest survey showed that 56% of health infrastructure is managed by humanitarian actors.
The investments made are likely to go to a waste if there are no adequate funding levels. This risks the country plunging into an acute humanitarian crisis situation. In this regard, Michel Yao and Virginie Baikoua reiterated their call for continued generosity of donors to better respond to the new needs. This will also allow partners to respond to new and protracted emergencies in the country. “Such will help us to rewrite a new narrative to the rest of the world and a new hope for the Central Africans” concluded Virginie Baikoua.
For more information, please contact OCHA CAR Joseph Inganji, Head of Office, +236 70738730, inganji@un.org Yaye Nabo Séne, Chief, Public Information + 236 70 08 75 65, seney@un.org Press releases are available on www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:
To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit http://unocha.org/.
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