Central African Republic: Thousands attend football match, to celebrate youth on the occasion of World Population Day

(New York: 11 July 2006): Thousands of miles away from the recent enthusiasm of the World Cup, over 3,000 people gathered in the stadium of the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, for a football match between two teams from local high schools. The event was the centrepiece of a ceremony marking World Population Day, organized by the Government with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The theme of this year's Day was "youth". "Throughout the world, the youth want to be heard and to take part", wrote UNFPA Executive Director Ms. Thoraya Obaid in her official declaration for the occasion.
In the misery-stricken African nation, UNFPA works for the rights of the youth to education and work, to health and dignity. In a country where men still yield far more power than women, UNFPA has been struggling, since its arrival thirty years ago, to promote female empowerment. "When you educate a man, you educate one person. When you educate a woman, you educate one family, one community, one nation", said Hamadou Logué, acting Representative of UNFPA, as over 50 journalists gathered at a press conference before the event. "The youth are the key to development in any country, and we must support them in all respects", Mr. Logué added.

Lack of basic education and high illiteracy are major problems in the land-locked nation: 57.3 per cent of the population is illiterate, reaching 82.4 per cent among rural women. "Without education for children and youth today, there is no chance of long-term development for this country", commented Seydina Tounkara, Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The living conditions and prospects of young people in the Central African Republic are dire, with life expectancy currently estimated at around 38 years and falling nearly six months each year. The large majority of Central African youth is today threatened by misery and food shortages, with a severe malnutrition rate of 4 per cent and chronic malnutrition in excess of 30 per cent. Malaria is the number one killer, followed by other diseases that are not deadly for people with access to proper food and medication: "Over 20 per cent of Central Africans die before age five, mostly due to treatable diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, and acute respiratory infections", stated World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Léodégal Bazira on a previous occasion. The health risks related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the highest in the world, with an infant mortality rate of 132 per 1000, and maternal mortality at 1,360 per 100,000. The rate of HIV/AIDS prevalence is believed to be between 15 and 20 per cent -- perhaps even higher among young people of reproductive age -- killing youth and adults and condemning many newborns to a similar destiny.

Having recently been allocated more than $250,000 from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), UNFPA will use the funding to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality through the provision of obstetrical health care in the conflict-affected prefectures of Ouham and Ouham-Pendé, in the northwest of the country. Additionally, recent improvements in donor funding has enabled non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and United Nations agencies to deliver emergency relief to the area, including food from the World Food Programme (WFP), basic medicines flown in by the WHO, and essential non-food items provided by the UNICEF. The operation was implemented by the Italian NGO COOPI. Other NGOs including MSF-Holland, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are also actively providing humanitarian aid to those most in need.

For further information, please contact:

Maurizio Giuliano, Public Information Officer, Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, C.A.R..
Email: giuliano@un.org
Tel: +236-031825

Gisèle Willybiro, Public Information Assistant, Office of the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, C.A.R..
Email: gisele.willybiro@undp.org
Tel: +236-549031

Stephanie Bunker, Spokesperson, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), New York
Email: bunker@un.org
Tel: +1-212-9175126

Elizabeth Byrs, Spokesperson, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Geneva
Email: byrs@un.org
Tel: +41-22-9172653

For information specifically related to UNFPA, please contact:

Julie Imafidon, Programme Associate, United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA), C.A.R.
Email: imafidon@unfpa.org
Tel: +236-042666