One out of four Central Africans is either internally displaced or a refugee
BANGUI, Central African Republic, January 7, 2019/ -- The Central African Republic continues to experience a complex and dire humanitarian crisis. One out of four Central Africans is either internally displaced or a refugee. The number of people in need of assistance and protection has increased from 2.5 million to 2.9 million, a 16 per cent increase compared to 2018. Of those, 1.9 million require acute and immediate assistance.

In order to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people, the Central African Government and the Humanitarian Country Team officially launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) on 7 January. Requesting US$ 430.7 million, the HRP aims to assist 1.7 million extremely vulnerable Central Africans. Based on three strategic objectives, this plan aims to save lives, strengthen the protection of affected people and to preserve human dignity while enabling access to lifesaving services.

The launch was marked by the deterioration of the security situation, with an increase in attacks against civilians and aid workers. More than 1,000 protection incidents per month were reported in 2018 and the number of incidents against humanitarian actors has increased alarmingly from 337 in 2017 to 396 incidents in 2018.

Despite a bleak picture of growing needs in all sectors, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the Central African Republic, Ms. Najat Rochdi, emphasized the dedication, courage and determination of humanitarian actors in their mission to give hope to affected children, women and men. “In 2019, we will not simply maintain our efforts, we will have to intensify them if we want to avoid the worst. That is why I call upon donors not to forget the Central African Republic and to help us mobilize the necessary funding to consolidate the achievements of previous years and to support the humanitarian response,” said Najat Rochdi.

In 2018, $253.9 million was raised thanks to the donors’ generosity, which has enabled the provision of assistance to more than 900,000 people within the Humanitarian Response Plan framework.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

SOURCE
Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)