The European Commission has announced it will deploy €18.85m in humanitarian aid to the Central African Republic throughout 2019.
The Central African Republic has been suffering an ongoing humanitarian crisis since 2013, occasioned by violent internal conflict in the region. A peace agreement signed in February 2019 has to date failed to quash the violence, which is predominantly directed against civilians and has led to mass internal displacement, famine and the exodus of some 592,000 refugees into neighbouring countries. Around 25% of the republic’s population has been displaced, with more than 50% in immediate need of humanitarian assistance; around 38% of the population is suffering from a lack of adequate nutrition and just under 66% do not have access to healthcare.
Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said: “For the EU, the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic is not a forgotten crisis. We will continue providing assistance to bring lifesaving relief to the people in need. We remain, however, concerned about violence levelled against civilians and aid workers in the Central African Republic. Innocent people and humanitarian workers are not a target.”
The new Central African Republic humanitarian aid funding is expected to go towards:
- Providing humanitarian assistance and support to civilians affected by the conflict, including internally displaced people, returnees and communities hosting refugees;
- Providing food and nutrition, water and sanitation, emergency healthcare, education and shelter to those in need;
- Supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid in areas which are hard to access, either due to insufficient infrastructure or the threat of violence; and
- Working to prevent violence in the region and provide legal, psychosocial and medical support to the victims of violence and their families.
The new aid allocation brings the EU’s Central African Republic humanitarian aid to a total of €135m since 2014.
