OCHA Central African Republic Media Advisory, May 2018

Briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic

Who: The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Central African Republic, Najat Rochdi, will hold a briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic on 14 May 2018 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. This working session will bring together the diplomatic corps accredited to the Republic of Cameroon, Representatives of United Nations Agencies and Representatives of donors to CAR. The objective is to take stock of the evolution of the situation since the launch of the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) including needs and response. This session will also enable advocacy for increased funding for humanitarian response.

WHAT: Briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic

WHEN: 14 May 2018

WHERE: Hilton Hotel, Yaoundé, Cameroon

Note to editors

The Central African Republic continues to face an acute humanitarian crisis characterized by persistent armed violence, massive population movements and increasing humanitarian needs.

During the first quarter of 2018, the number of displaced persons remained high. In March 2018, there were 687,398 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). During this period, the Central African Republic had 568,572 refugees in neighboring countries. More than 1.2 million Central Africans have been forcibly displaced. This implies that one in four Central Africans is either still a refugee or internally displaced. As a reminder and for comparison purposes, at the peak of the crisis in August 2014, CAR had 600,000 IDPs.

Funding for humanitarian activities remained low during the first quarter, as needs increased in hotspots such as Paoua and Bria. Today, the $515.6 million Humanitarian Response Plan has only received $38.7 million funding or 8 per cent of the required amount. This funding level is too low to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to the 1.9 million people targeted by the HRP. In 2018, 2.5 million people or half of the population needs humanitarian assistance. Compared to the total population, the Central African Republic has one of the highest humanitarian caseload per capita in the world.

For more information, please contact OCHA CAR
Joseph Inganji, Head of Office, +236 70738730, inganji@un.org
Yaye Nabo Séne, Chief, Public Information + 236 70 08 75 65, seney@un.org
OCHA information products are available on www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int