Central African Republic: Humanitarian Response Plan, January 2024

Summary of trend history

The 2024 Humanitarian Response plan (HRP) aims to provide a sustained response focused on the centrality of protection, guided by the preferences of affected populations, whilst preserving their lives and their dignity, and strengthening their resilience to shocks given that new crises have created new sources of humanitarian need, and where decreased funding has impacted the humanitarian environment in the CAR, with only 56% of funds mobilised in 2023. In light of the country’s improved humanitarian situation and a decrease in the number of people in need, 1.9 million people are targeted of the 2.8 million people identified as extremely vulnerable in the Humanitarian Needs Overview. The humanitarian community will ensure that chronically vulnerable people do not exceed the emergency threshold.

Indeed, the 2024 response plan will be modelled essentially on the latest disaster areas and the vital needs of populations facing critical levels of vulnerability. This response plan paves the way for other types of stakeholders to address the structural needs which remain concerning, and which lead to further humanitarian vulnerabilities in the event of new shocks. This complementarity is in close line with the results of consultations and the priorities of affected communities. Thus, the response will also pay particular attention to the vulnerabilities of populations in prolonged displacement.

Context and Impact of the crisis

2.8 million people – 46% of the Central African population – will be extremely vulnerable, to the extent that humanitarian aid alone will not be enough for their well-being. In 2023, approximately seven out of 10 Central Africans live below the poverty line, with less than USD 2.15 a day, making CAR one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. Not only does this situation increase the impact of even small shocks on the populations’ lives, but it also exacerbates the vulnerability of households with limited capacity for resilience. The rates of food insecurity and malnutrition, maternal and infant mortality, illiteracy and early marriage, are still quite worrying on a national level, while the realities of the situation’s inherent structural needs continue to negatively impact the lives of populations facing multiple levels of vulnerability.

Discrimination against women/girls and people living with disability at all levels of society is an obstacle to their full participation in social and economic life. Gender gaps contribute to high levels of gender- based violence (GBV) with over 11,000 cases recorded between January and September 2023, of which 31% were rapes (96% of victims are essentially women or girls). This discrimination is reinforced by socio- cultural norms that are unfavorable to women and girls. In addition to this are conflict-related human rights violations linked to conflicts (146 cases of conflict-related sexual violence resulting in 196 victims, including 2 men, 90 women and 102 girls). In remote, hard-to-reach areas marked by the presence of armed groups, the rate of illiteracy in women and girls is estimated to be 90%. People with disability are also excluded from education systems and other basic services, due to inadequate infrastructure that does not consider their needs (73.8% of people with disability surveyed can neither read nor write).

Rising fuel prices and the crises in Chad and Sudan have disrupted supply chains already weakened by the war in Ukraine. The sharp increase in fuel prices has significantly contributed to the rise in food prices, mainly through the general increase in transport costs (+17.1%), food (+10.3%) and energy (+3.5%). In 2023, 69% of Central Africans households live in extreme poverty, an aggravating factor of an already worrying humanitarian situation in the country, where a basket of food has increased by 22% compared to the average of the past four years.

Armed group activism and tensions in neighbouring countries are creating new vulnerabilities and urgent needs. In 2023, the CAR encountered three new hotspots of tension, namely the arrival of refugees and returnees since the beginning of the war in Sudan, the presence of asylum seekers and returnees fleeing inter-community violence in south-eastern Chad, and the different waves of displacement in south-eastern CAR following the emergence, in March 2023, of a self-defence group in the southeast of the country. These events are fuelling a rising sense of insecurity, causing an influx of Chadian asylum seekers, Sudanese refugees, and Central African returnees towards already fragile areas benefiting from limited humanitarian assistance. As a consequence, the total number of refugees and asylum seekers has increased by 25% (62,000 refugees in November 2023 vs. 11,967 at the end of 2022), creating an urgent need for humanitarian aid and protection.

Financial stress exposes children to an increased risk from various forms of exploitation, including the worst types of child labor or sexual exploitation. Of 3,664 total cases of child GBV recorded between January and September 2023, 84% were cases of sexual violence. The psychological and social consequences of the crisis in the CAR risk jeopardizing the long-term mental health and the psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents. Aggravated by the recurrent shocks, the risk of school abandonment and subsequent risk of increased violations of Central African children’s rights is reinforced, bearing in mind also that only 31% of girls versus 50% of boys aged 14-24 are in school.

Clinical care for rape victims within 72 hours remains a major challenge across the country. In 2023, only 29% of GBV cases received psychosocial support and medical care within the required 72-hour timeframe.

The increased access to explosive devices restricts humanitarian access and civilian movement in several areas. In 2023, the use of explosive devises increased by 15% and, of 62 registered incidents involving explosives between January and October, more than three quarters of victims were civilians. The presence of explosive devices, especially in the west of the country, significantly limits humanitarian access where numerous access restrictions already exist.

Rain and river flooding remains a permanent risk for several parts of the country, compounding other types of shocks and humanitarian vulnerabilities. As of 1 December 2023, more than 85,000 people were affected by flooding, a decrease from the previous year (100,000 people affected in 2022), potentially attributable to the delayed rainy season.

Population movement remains the most visible manifestation of the crisis in the CAR. One Central African in five is either internally displaced or has sought refuge principally in neighbouring countries. As of 30 September 2023, the total number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) is estimated at 440,840, 27% of which live in camps and 73% with host families. 12% of the entire population in a situation of forced displacement moved in 2023, predominantly women and children under the age of 181 . The main shocks related to new displacement in 2023 were: conflictrelated violence, transhumance-related incidents, flooding and threats from armed groups. Furthermore, the number of displaced people who returned or settled locally increased by 4% and returns from abroad increased by 5%, the majority of whom were Central Africans fleeing community violence in Chad and armed conflict in Sudan.

Despite new waves of displacement, the intention to return is significant among the displaced population. 35% of IDPs in camps and 75% of those living in host families plan to return home in the coming months or opt for local integration.

Beyond the logistical challenges, violence against humanitarian personnel, goods and infrastructure is a barrier to access for humanitarian populations and services 197 incidents against humanitarian aid workers were reported between October 2022 and November 2023, mostly robberies and intrusions (59%, 117 incidents), interference and restrictions on movement (28%, 55 incidents), and threats and intimidation against humanitarian aid workers (13%, 25 incidents). The impact of poor infrastructure on physical access all over the country and the presence of explosive devices (especially in the west), intensifiesthe humanitarian access challenges, beyond the usual seasonal constraints. These factors drastically slow down the transit of humanitarian aid in the most affected and landlocked areas, including the south- east, east and the north-east of the CAR. They also influence the cost of activities and are out of step with the humanitarian response funding financing trend in the CAR.