UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : CAR Humanitarian Situation

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"Due to armed violence, one in five Central Africans is either an IDP or a refugee in neighboring countries, with Sudan crisis excacerbating the situation"

The humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) remains critical with 3,4 million people – or half of the population - in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, 2.4 million have needs so severe that their survival and dignity is at risk, told the Humanitarian Coordinator of the CAR, Mohamed Ag Ayoya, the media at a briefing at the UN in Geneva.

“The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in CAR (Central African Republic) is quite high”, said Mr. Ag Ayoya. “We are talking about 3.4 million people spread over 623,000 square kilometers area due to underlying factors which are exacerbated by the long-lasting conflict, including, of course, lack of basic services such as health care, clean water and social protection.”

Repeated military confrontations between various armed actors in the country result in a continuously volatile security situation causing population movements.

“Due to armed violence, one in five Central Africans is either an IDP or a refugee in neighboring countries”. Mr. Ag Ayoya said. He added that “it is against this background that the ongoing conflict in Sudan is unfortunately also exacerbating the situation in CAR.”

The impact of the ongoing conflict in Sudan further worsens humanitarian needs in the country. Vulnerable households were already weakened after the combined impact of Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine these past years.

Mr. Ag Ayoya said the conflict in neighbouring Sudan has meant the arrival of nearly 14,000 Sudanese asylum seekers and Central African repatriates in the Northeast. It has also halted commercial traffic across the border, putting additional pressure on the limited resources available to the 130,000 extremely vulnerable people in the region.

“As of 24 May 2023, we have more than thirteen thousand people, actually a little bit less than thirteen thousand, including Central African returnees, who have previously fled from Sudan to Am-Dafockfog in CAR on one site and about ten thousand people have also fled Chad, both Chadians but also Central African returnees who also came into CAR,” said CAR’s Humanitarian Coordinator.

Delivering humanitarian assistance in CAR is often a race against time and a volatile security situation. When the rainy season starts, large parts of the country get cut off from road access and are only accessible via air lifts.

“With the rainy season beginning, the transportation of humanitarian aid by road is becoming almost impossible and extremely very limited,” said Mr. Ag Ayoa. “Warehouses could not be supplied as before due to the Sudan crisis, as I said earlier. The air transportation alternative is also limited by rising fuel prices due to the disruption of supply chain caused by the war in Ukraine and recently again exacerbated by the conflict in Sudan.”

Despite these challenges, humanitarian partners continue to find ways to assist the vulnerable population. In 2022, the humanitarian community helped 1.9 million people. In the first three months of 2023 alone, 658,000 people were reached with live-saving assistance.

The humanitarian appeal of $533 million is currently 25 per cent funded ($125 million).

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CAR Humanitarian Situation - OCHA

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