ReliefWeb

The Central African Republic (CAR) is facing one of the most silent and forgotten emergencies in the world. This ongoing chronic crisis has substantial humanitarian repercussions that increase the population‘s vulnerability. This chronic vulnerability varies in intensity by region and is exacerbated by minimal access to basic social services, presence of destabilizing armed actors and frequency of localized natural disasters.

An estimated 98,892 people in the country are still affected by displacement, 51,679 of whom are internally displaced people (IDPs) and 47,213 are returnees (IDPs and refugees). An estimated 663,520 people are in need, including those living in a humanitarian emergency or a fragile situation and needing humanitarian aid and monitoring. The humanitarian community identifies six categories of people in need: IDPs, rural refugees living in camps, IDP returnees, refugee returnees, urban refugees and asylum seekers, and the resident population.

In 2013, humanitarian response will focus on life-saving interventions for vulnerable people in conflict and natural disasters, with a particular focus in the south-east, north-east and in the north-central part of CAR. Programmes will focus on reducing excess mortality and morbidity while preserving a people‘s dignity in the emergency zones and while supporting communities‘ resilience to shocks in fragile zones.

The HCT, supported by the clusters and humanitarian partners, endorsed two strategic objectives that will guide humanitarian action in 2013 in line with the needs identified to targeted people:

Increase access to immediate integrated life-saving assistance for people affected by humanitarian emergencies.

Stabilize livelihoods and prevent their deterioration for vulnerable people in post-conflict areas through integrated recovery activities.

To implement this strategy, the HCT has identified the need for $129,311,203 to support 102 projects that address the needs of the most vulnerable people in CAR according to the established prioritization criteria. 24% ($31,089,248) is required for immediate-priority projects, 62% ($80,050,929) for high-priority projects and 14% ($18,171,026) for medium-priority projects.

The main threats to the humanitarian community carrying out the identified necessary programmes are twofold: access constraints due to insecurity and criminality, and the lack of funding required for effective project planning and implementation.

The humanitarian community in CAR expresses its gratitude to all donors for their support in 2012 during which projects in the CAP have received $76.3 million as of mid-November, 62% of the total requirements. The HCT urges donors to increase their support to the country to avoid slipping back into deeper crisis.