The country
The Central African Republic, gaining independence from France in 1960, is a landlocked country within the interior of the African continent. The central African country borders Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Its capital is Bangui. The Central African Republic covers a land area of 622,984 square kilometers. As of 2024, the country has an estimated population of around 6.1 million people. The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the worldβs poorest and least developed states.
The humanitarian situation
The Central African Republic (CAR) has been among the most neglected humanitarian crises worldwide for several years in a row. The country has been troubled by violent unrest since 2012. Nearly half of its population β 46 percent - requires humanitarian aid in 2024. While insecurity and violence against civilians continue to force Central Africans to flee their homes, humanitarian and development actors are helping many internally displaced persons and refugees to resume a normal life after several years of displacement.
The total displaced population amounts now to more than 1.25 million people, with over 750,000 refugees fleeing to neighboring countries and some 500,000 people displaced inside the country. With one-fifth of its population forced to flee, the Central African Republic is the country - behind South Sudan and Sudan - with the third-highest level of forced displacement in Africa. Most refugees have fled to Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While clashes between conflict parties have lessened in intensity, violence against civilians has not, and their livelihoods continue to deteriorate. A large portion of the Central African Republic's population is still facing a humanitarian crisis, particularly in areas outside urban centers. Furthermore, stress within households as a result of food insecurity, as well as the adoption of negative coping mechanisms, has resulted in an increase in gender-based violence (GBV).
Primarily due to the consequences of the armed conflict that has been going on for more than twelve years, as well as the effects of the ongoing war in Sudan and the growing insecurity in the border region with Chad, humanitarian needs will remain high in 2024, although the humanitarian situation improved in some areas in 2023.
With one third of the population not eating enough, CAR has one of the highest proportions of critically food-insecure people in the world. Approximately 2 million people will likely experience crisis levels of acute food insecurity - or worse - between September 2023 and March 2024. An estimated 360,000 people will likely experience emergency levels of hunger countrywide.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the areas are with the largest number of people in need of humanitarian assistance are water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), food security, health and protection, covering between 2.7 and 3 million people.
In 2024, there will be 2.8 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in the Central African Republic, a decrease of 18 percent compared to last year. In 2023, 3.4 million people, including around 1.4 million children, were in need of humanitarian relief. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Central African Republic is one of the worst places in the world to be a child.
Last year, humanitarian agencies provided life-saving assistance to 2 million women, men and children, according to OCHA. In 2022, humanitarian actors delivered aid to 1.9 million people.
In 2023, around seven in ten Central Africans were living below the poverty line on less than USD 2.15 a day, making the Central African Republic one of the ten poorest countries in the world.
CAR has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world at only 54 years. Infant mortality rates are among the highest in the world, and pregnant women are at high risk of death or serious illness due to a lack of gynecologists. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the CAR Ministry of Health, less than half of health care facilities in the country are fully operational, and there are 0.6 doctors for every 10,000 people - one of the lowest ratios in the world.
The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the Central African Republic seeks US$ 367.7 million to support 1.9 million of the most vulnerable people this year.
In 2023, humanitarian organizations in the Central African Republic planned to assist 2.4 million most vulnerable people. The United Nations and humanitarian partners had appealed for US$ 533 million to help those in need last year. As of January 2024, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for the Central African Republic was only 56 percent covered, despite massive needs.
Flooding from both rain and rivers remains a constant risk for several parts of the country, overshadowing other types of humanitarian shocks and vulnerabilities. In 2023, more than 85,000 people were affected by floods, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. In the Central African Republic, more than 100,000 people were exposed to flooding in 2022.
The security situation
The ongoing fighting in the Central African Republic signals a further deterioration of the peace agreement signed by the government and armed groups in 2019. Despite the February 2019 peace agreement, the security situation in the country remains precarious, and armed groups continue to control large parts of the Central African Republic's territory. Violence and insecurity resurfaced after the December 2020 parliamentary elections. Fierce clashes between armed groups have led to increasing suffering and deaths.
In 2014, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of a multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping mission whose top priority is the protection of civilians. The tasks of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) include facilitating humanitarian assistance, promoting and protecting human rights, supporting justice and the rule of law, and disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and repatriation processes.
Russian mercenaries from the Wagner organization β a Russian private military security firm with obvious ties to the Russian government β have been deployed in the country. While officially in CAR to serve as military instructors, the UN has so far identified multiple cases in which these mercenaries engaged in active warfare and were implicated in human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.
In 2022, the Central African Armed Forces consolidated their control over the major urban centers. In rural areas, however, armed groups continue to perpetrate robberies, looting, illegal taxation, and extortion. Armed groups and government forces have been involved in violent incidents and human rights abuses against civilians. 2022 saw new displacements in areas where violent clashes occurred, while return movements of displaced persons continued to be concentrated in urban areas.
However, insecurity and attacks against civilians, humanitarians, and UN peacekeeping forces continue. While relief agencies are working to help people affected by the conflict, the ongoing fighting and logistical constraints have impeded humanitarian efforts, particularly in the more remote areas of CAR. The Central African Republic remains one of the most dangerous countries for humanitarian workers.
In 2023, clashes between non-state armed groups and attacks against the Central African armed forces (FACA) aggravated the humanitarian situation in many regions and led to massive displacements. Violations and breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law are widespread.
The Central African Republic continues to face a complex humanitarian crisis, despite the reduction in the number of people in need. While security conditions have improved in certain regions, challenges remain, in particular recurrent clashes between warring parties that lead to displacement and disrupt access to livelihoods as well as the effects of the ongoing war in Sudan and the growing insecurity in the border region with Chad.
Donations
Your donation for the Central African Republic emergency can help United Nations agencies, international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their local partners to rapidly provide water, food, medicine, shelter and other aid to the people who need it most.
- UN Crisis Relief: Central African Republic Emergency
https://crisisrelief.un.org/car-more-than-half-need-urgent-aid - UNICEF Appeal: Central African Republic
https://www.unicef.org/appeals/car - International Rescue Committee (IRC): Central African Republic Appeal
https://www.rescue.org/country/central-african-republic - UNHCR: Donate to help refugees in the Central African Republic
https://donate.unhcr.org/int/en/central-african-republic
To find other organizations to which you can donate, visit: Humanitarian Crisis Relief, Refugees and IDPs, Children in Need, Hunger and Food Insecurity, Medical Humanitarian Aid, Vulnerable Groups, Faith-Based Humanitarian Organizations, and Human Rights Organizations.
Further Information
- Concern Worldwide: The Central African Republic crisis explained
https://www.concernusa.org/story/central-african-republic-crisis-explained/ - UN OCHA: Central African Republic: Situation Report
https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/car/ - ACAPS: Central African Republic Complex crisis
https://www.acaps.org/country/car/crisis/complex-crisis - European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO): Central African Republic
https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/africa/central-african-republic_en - UNHCR: Central African Republic Situation
https://www.unhcr.org/central-african-republic-situation.html - UNICEF: Crisis in Central African Republic
https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/crisis-central-african-republic - UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA)
https://minusca.unmissions.org/en - International Crisis Group: Central African Republic
https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/central-africa/central-african-republic - Human Rights Watch: World Report 2024: Central African Republic
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/central-african-republic - Amnesty International: Report 2022/2023: Human rights in Central African Republic
https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/africa/west-and-central-africa/central-african-republic/report-central-african-republic/
Last updated: 05/02/2024