Central African Republic: Situation Report, 10 July 2023

HIGHLIGHTS

Increasingly worrying humanitarian situation in the Haut-Mbomou Prefecture

In 2023, the humanitarian community in CAR plans to assist 2.4 million most vulnerable people. US$ 465 million is required.

Faced with insecurity in their villages, Chadians seek refuge in northwest Central Africa

Humanitarian actors provided life-saving assistance to 658,000 people during the first quarter of 2023, representing 28 per cent of the Humanitarian Response Plan target

With 50 per cent of the population not eating enough, CAR has one of the highest proportions of critically food-insecure people in the world.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Meeting humanitarian needs in isolated areas

The civilian population in the Central African Republic (CAR) continues to pay a heavy price, in a country ravaged by conflict and subsequent violence for over a decade. Located in the south-east of the HauteKotto prefecture, the sub-prefecture of Yalinga, with an estimated population of 10,650 remains one of the most vulnerable and isolated in the country. Yalinga is very difficult to access, where roads exist, and the cellular network does not cover this city located nearly 600 km from Bangui, the capital. Access to basic services such as water and healthcare is very poor, while food insecurity is among the most severe in the country. Most of its residents are spontaneous returnees, having been displaced for years following atrocities committed by armed groups.

Major obstacles to humanitarian access

Difficult to access due to armed groups activities, as well as physically due to the deterioration or absence of roads, particularly during the rainy season (April-October), Yalinga has always faced a worrying humanitarian situation.

Clashes between different armed groups over control of resources are recurrent. The population continues to suffer extortion, illegal taxation and other human rights violations on a daily basis. Humanitarian organizations are also affected by robberies and kidnapping attempts when they try to help the most vulnerable. This was the case in December 2022, when staff from a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) on a mission to install a vaccine conservation system in a health center in the Yalinga region were held hostages by armed men, before being released following negotiations with local authorities.

In 2021, a private transporter working for an NGO was robbed, and three months' worth of medicines for the Yalinga Health Center were taken by armed men. The presence of armed groups since 2020 and insecurity have made humanitarian activities and multi-sector assessment missions by road impossible, leading to the temporary withdrawal of humanitarian organizations until April 2023.

For the first time in over three years, a humanitarian mission by road comprising OXFAM, INTERSOS, AURD, BRIA-LONDO, ESPERANCE and the World Food Programme (WFP), under the leadership of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) visited Yalinga from 18 to 22 April 2023. The mission assessed the needs of the population and prepared a response plan covering the period from April to December 2023. Preliminary contacts with authorities and civil society actors in Yalinga and the region helped in identifying and mitigating risks associated with road travel in the area.