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CAR

WFP Central African Republic Country Brief, August 2017

Attachments

Highlights

  • Clashes between armed groups and attacks against humanitarian organisations have a negative impact on humanitarian space and operations are becoming increasingly complex to organize. Airlifting food may become the only option to deliver life-saving assistance to affected populations in Zemio, Bangassou and Obo.
    This is expected to substantially increase the cost of WFP emergency operations in Central African Republic.

  • The Central African Republic is at a turning point.
    Increased attention and investment are necessary to avert a full-blown crisis, which will also have severe regional implications for millions of people.

  • WFP urgently needs some USD 26.7 million for the next 6 months to deliver food and nutrition assistance to the affected people in Central African Republic.

Operational Updates

  • Despite heightened insecurity and considerable logistical challenges WFP is aiming to scale up its emergency interventions to reach some 700,000 highly vulnerable people by the end of 2017 including the people newly displaced by the uptick of violence.

  • As violence is intensifying and expanding across the country, there is a risk that hard-earned gains will be lost. C.A.R. is facing its most serious violence since the country’s last major unrest in 2014.

  • Needs have dramatically increased in a context where half of the country’s population (over 2 million) is already in need of food assistance and where stunting prevalence exceeds 40 percent in 9 out of 16 districts.

  • The hotspots that increase across the country overstretch MINUSCA forces and reduce their capacity to avail escorts as required. In addition, private transport companies generally refuse to move in areas where security is not guaranteed compelling WFP to use its own fleet to deliver food commodities in most sites.

  • WFP is working into options and solutions for an uninterrupted provision of life-saving assistance including by optimizing the use of the Uganda-South Sudan-C.A.R. corridor to complement overland transport. However, with armed groups roaming the country, airlifting food may become the only option in delivering desperately needed food to affected people in Zemio, Obo and Bangassou.

  • In collaboration with the Government and food security actors WFP is planning the 2017 ENSA (Enquête Nationale de sécurité Alimentaire) with the objective of collecting data to evaluate new developments since October 2016 and assessing the impact of the crisis on the food security situation. Data collection will take place during the last three months of the year.

  • The Logistics Cluster is leveraging its coordination function to provide coordinated cargo airlifts on a free-to-user basis and ensure resources are used efficiently and effectively. In August, it facilitated the deployment of 12 mt of light cargo, enabling humanitarian organizations to deliver life-saving assistance in priority areas like Zemio and Bangassou. The Logistics Cluster led by WFP facilitated also common storage services for 17 humanitarian organizations enabling a swift response to emergency.

Challenges

Among the main challenges WFP faces while implementing its operations are:

  • Clashes between armed groups and increasing attacks against humanitarian organizations which have the potential of disrupting activities;

  • Limited capacity of local transporters and poor road network, which often cause additional delay in the delivery of food assistance; and,

  • Funding constraints: WFP requires USD 26.7 million to provide food and nutrition assistance through December.