ReliefWeb

Highlights

• On 17 September, the school year was officially launched by the President in Bangui. UNICEF technically and financially supported the Ministry of Education (MoE) in the implementation of the national ‘Back to School’ mass communication campaign in all 8 Academic Inspections. The Education Cluster estimates that 280,000 school-age children were displaced, including 116,000 who had dropped out of school

• The Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) hit a record month, with partners ensuring 10 interventions across crisis-affected areas, reaching 38,640 children and family members with NFI kits, and 59,443 with WASH services

• In September, 19 violent incidents against humanitarian actors were recorded, including UNICEF partners, leading to interruptions of assistance, just as dozens of thousands of new IDPs fleeing violence reached Bria

SITUATION IN NUMBERS

1.3 million
# of children in need of humanitarian assistance

2.5 million
# of people in need
(OCHA, June 2018)

621,035
# of Internally displaced persons
(OCHA, August 2018)

Outside CAR
572, 984
# of registered CAR refugees
(UNHCR, August 2018)

2018 UNICEF Appeal
US$ 56.5 million

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

The situation deteriorated significantly during September in Kaga-Bandoro, Bouca, Batangafo (center-north) because of a series of acts of violence against the civilian population and humanitarian actors. A new wave of robberies against humanitarian facilities has been reported. From the first to the 30 September, 19 incidents (violence, death threats against humanitarian workers, robberies of compound or humanitarian convoys and staff residences) directly affected humanitarian partners, including eight in Kaga-Bandoro, which led to movement restrictions for humanitarian actors, five in Bouca and six in Batangafo. Seven humanitarian actors had to suspend their interventions. OCHA estimates that approximately 168,000 people who depend on humanitarian assistance in these areas have been affected.

Since June, fighting between armed groups on the Bria-Irabanda axis (72 km south-east of Bria, (Haute-Kotto, centereast) had a domino effect and increased population movements to Bria town, where a record 93,000 people now live in displacement. The increase in the number of displaced people affects the capacity of the humanitarian partners to provide water at the PK3 site, which is the largest in CAR. Access to farming fields and trade remain difficult and this has led to soaring prices for food and essential commodities. The respect for the civil and neutral nature of displaced persons' sites remains a major challenge, particularly in PK3. Various incidents of protection and human rights violations committed by armed groups have been reported by protection partners, as well as attempts to interfere with the management of the humanitarian response in this site. Nevertheless, emergency responses are underway by humanitarian partners to meet the needs of the IDPs.

On 3 September, the Protocol on Information Sharing and Reporting of Alleged Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (EAS), which is in line with the 2013 United Nations Secretary-General's bulletin, was signed by MINUSCA, United Nations agencies, various NGOs involved in humanitarian response in CAR.