UN and NGOs appeal for $50 million to keep alive one million Central Africans

(New York: 12 December 2006) The United Nations in Bangui today issued the 2007 Coordinated Aid Programme (CAP) for the Central African Republic (CAR) to raise $50 million, urgently required to meet the emergency needs of one million people.

Pinched between Darfur and Chad on the one hand, with an armed opposition movement and a bankrupt government on the other, insecurity reigns in northern CAR, leading to increasing displacement and suffering. "I fear that unrest in the country could threaten regional stability, with implications for several countries," said Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland in New York today.

In 2006, hostilities have affected one million people in the north. At least 100 villages have been torched, and 220,000 people have been forced from their homes. In recent weeks, violence just north of the key town of Kaga Bandoro in central CAR and near Birao in the north-east caused more displacement. "People are the real victims of the violence; and we are gearing up our response to save as many lives as we can," said Toby Lanzer, the Humanitarian Coordinator for CAR.

Humanitarian needs, in what was until recently Africa's most neglected country, have soared in 2006, with clear priorities in emergency health, protection, food security and shelter. Interest by donors and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has also increased. While five donors gave $ 9.8 million to the 2005 appeal, ten donors provided $ 22.3 million to date in 2006. And while two international NGOs were present in 2005, there are nine today. Yet these improvements are still insufficient for addressing increasing suffering.

The launch was hosted by the Humanitarian Coordinator, with interim Prime Minister Abdou Karim Meckassoua as keynote speaker, preceded by World Food Programme Representative Jean-Charles Déï. The International Committee of the Red Cross' official in the north, Anna Gatteschi, also presented ICRC's plan for 2007 at the meeting

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
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.