This is the second USD 10 million allocation in about two months from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support aid efforts in CAR, which has plunged into chaos and deadly violence following months of political crisis and lawlessness.

 

An estimated 2.5 million people – well over half of the country’s 4.6 million residents – are in need of assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

 

Valerie Amos, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and head of OCHA, says that needs in the country are tremendous, and humanitarian partners are being forced to prioritize the delivery of assistance.

 

Security and stability must be urgently restored, and more must be done to address the root causes of conflict and prevent escalation of violence, she adds.

 

A total of USD 207 million in humanitarian funding to the CAR was pledged by donors at a special meeting held last month in Brussels. As of this week, 28 per cent of the pledges have been committed or disbursed, amounting to USD 57.5 million. OCHA added that the USD 551 million Strategic Response Plan for CAR is just 13 per cent funded.

 

Thousands of people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict in CAR, which erupted when mainly Muslim Séléka rebels launched attacks in December 2012 and has taken on increasingly sectarian overtones as mainly Christian militias known as anti-Balaka (anti-machete) have taken up arms.

 

Earlier this week, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) warned that the security situation in the capital of Bangui continues to deteriorate, with targeted assassinations and rising violence and criminality on the streets.

 

Also on Thursday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon discussed the ongoing crisis in CAR with the President of France, Francois Hollande.

 

Distribution of food and household items at the IDP site surrounding the airport in Bangui, Central African Republic. Photo: OCHA/R. Gitau