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Central African Republic: Situation Report, 30 November 2020

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ЦАР
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OCHA
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HIGHLIGHTS

  • In 2021, 2.8 million Central Africans – more than half of the population – will need humanitarian assistance and protection.

  • The COVID-19 pandemic is severely affecting the 2020-2021 school year, in an already fragile sector

  • Fighting for the lives of children and their mothers

  • Floods continue to threaten the Central African Republic. A long-term solution remains essential; meanwhile, emergency needs are looming.

  • The instability in the west has serious consequences for the population trapped in the conflict.

FORECAST

The survival of 1.9 million people in the Central African Republic is at risk

In 2021, 2.8 million Central Africans – 57 per cent of the population estimated at 4.9 million – will need humanitarian assistance and protection. Of those, three-quarters have acute needs. In other words, the survival of 1.9 million people, or 39 per cent of the population, is at risk. The Humanitarian Needs Overview 2021 for the Central African Republic, the result of an unparalleled data collection and extensive analysis, shows a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation across all sectors.

The figures reveal the dramatic consequences of a pandemic in a country already ravaged by decades of armed conflict, underdevelopment and where natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe. The figures also reveal the grim daily life the majority in the country, who live in such difficult conditions that they are struggling to feed themselves. Even those who have enough food find it difficult to find decent housing or to get their children an education. The data also shows that there is a danger of humanitarian actors disengaging when development actors are slow to take over.

The humanitarian situation continues to worsen

Since last year, the number of people in need has increased from 2.6 million to 2.8 million (+8 per cent). Meanwhile, the number of people with acute needs is 12 per cent higher than in 2020 (with 1.9 million people in 2021 compared to 1.7 million in 2020). In the past five years, there have never been as many people in humanitarian distress in the Central African Republic as today. This increase is a direct consequence of the downward plunge of the economy, the spreading of the violent conflict, rising food insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Central African Republic continues to face a serious protection crisis, with a steady increase in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law despite the signing of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in 2019. Those who suffer most are not those fighting, but rather the civilians. One in four Central Africans are displaced either within the country or in a neighboring country, and the return of internally displaced people and refugees has slowed down considerably.

Gender-based violence is a plague, with one incident reported every hour by the humanitarian alert system, which covers only 42 per cent of the country – and these figures are only the tip of the iceberg. Humanitarian actors have recorded an almost two-fold increase in the number of cases of violence against girls and women as a result of restrictions related to COVID-19. Across the Central African Republic, children continue to be exposed to risks. One in four families fears for the safety of its children, mainly in relation to sexual violence, forced labor and recruitment by armed groups.

The sector with the most people in need is thus protection, followed by health, water, hygiene and sanitation and food security. 40 per cent of Central African households are in a situation of acute food insecurity. In the capital of Bangui, the number of food insecure people has almost doubled since last year, now affecting 45 per cent of the population. The number of people in need in 2021 has increased in all sectors except nutrition, where there has been a slight decrease.

The Central African Republic is also one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarians in the world. On average, more than one incident per day affecting humanitarian workers was recorded between January and the end of September 2020, with two aid workers killed and 21 injured.

The next steps

To meet the population’s needs in 2021, humanitarian actors in the Central African Republic in collaboration with the government, will develop a common strategy to guide their interventions, which will be detailed in the Humanitarian Response Plan 2021, published in December 2020.

Despite generous donor contributions, as of October 2020, the current Humanitarian Response Plan is funded at just over half of the US$ 553.6 million required. To enable humanitarians to meet the ever-growing needs of the population in 2021, they are counting on donors’ commitment to stand by those Central Africans who cannot meet their basic needs.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.