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Nearly 2 million people in CAR need aid

Countries
CAR
+ 1 more
Sources
OCHA
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SITUATION OVERVIEW

The analysis in this document is based on the recent humanitarian needs overview (HNO) developed by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), latest Flash Updates and secondary data consolidated by OCHA.

1 Severity of crisis

A serious protection crisis has been unfolding in CAR over the last twelve months affecting the entire country and leading to the recent deployment of French peacekeeping forces. Reports covering Bangui, only, estimates that over 213,760 people have been displaced during recent clashes and more than 1,000 people killed. At least 12% of CAR’s population, around 639,000 people, is now displaced.

The HCT estimates that around 2.0 million people, almost half of the population, are in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. The collapse of the state, law and order, and public services risks further exacerbating the situation. The intervention of French peacekeeping forces promises some degree of stability and protection to the civilians but its strength will be insufficient to cover the whole country.

2 Humanitarian needs

The affected population is in dire need of food, health care, water sanitation and shelter (HNO Dec 2013). Needs are expected to increase under current conditions, both in terms of people affected and severity. Some 1.1 million people require emergency food assistance, according to WFP. Human rights violations, sexual and gender-based violence and destruction of livelihoods by armed and non-armed groups are widespread. More than 650,000 children are unable to go to school due to the closure or occupation of about 60% of schools, and 2,500 have been recruited by rebel forces, according to MSF.

A large number of the displaced, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, have gone without access to safe water, shelter, health and nutritional support for almost a year. 50% percent of the IDPs are moderately or severely food insecure (EFSA September 2013).

3 Response capacity

National and local capacity has been reduced or crippled by the breakdown of ministries and social infrastructures. Government and nongovernmental health service providers cover only 10 to 20% of the population. Communities are practically left to themselves, forcing many households to revert to negative coping strategies. International capacity is increasing although access remains limited due to insecurity and extremely weak infrastructure.

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