Central African Republic (CAR), landlocked country located in the centre of Africa. The country is a sparsely populated country with an area of 623,000 km2. Its capital, Bangui, is situated on the banks of the Ubangi River and was founded as a French trading post in the 19th century. Central African Republic is one of the poorest and most fragile countries in the world despite its abundant natural resources (470 mineral occurrences, with oil, gold and diamonds having the greatest potential).
The drivers of fragility include a lack of social cohesion, the concentration of political power, social and regional disparities, the capture and mismanagement of natural resources by the elite and persistent insecurity fueled by a regional system of conflicts. After two consecutive years of virtual stagnation, economic activity is estimated to have ground to a complete halt in 2022, owing to major flooding and fuel shortages. Real GDP growth is estimated at 0.0% in 2022, down from 1.0% in 2021. With per capita GDP growth declining by 2.2% in 2021, it is estimated that more than 3.5 million persons are expected to continue living in extreme poverty between 2023 and 2025.
Today, the three million girls and boys of the Central Africa Republic face the highest registered level of overlapping and interconnected crises and deprivation in the world, according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Similarly, UNICEF has indicated that the Central African Republic (CAR) now holds the tragic distinction of being ranked first among 191 countries as the most at-risk for humanitarian crises and disaster. This dire status underscores the severe and urgent challenges faced by its youngest citizens. Also, the ten years of protracted conflict and instability in CAR has left every single one of CAR’s three million children at risk.
While the security situation in the country has improved over the past decade, impunity for those responsible for serious crimes continues to fuel recurring cycles of violence, and armed groups continue to commit atrocities, leaving trails of death, displacement, and destitution. Rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have documented extensive cases of systematic rape at the hands of Seleka and anti-Balaka rebels and other armed groups.
Meanwhile, the central government grapples with asserting its influence beyond the capital, Bangui. The situation has improved “in some areas in early 2024,” finds a recent UNICEF report. As a result of the volatile security situation, one in five of the country’s 5.5 million population are displaced within and across CAR’s borders. In addition to the more than 500,000 internally displaced, some 725,000 people are seeking refuge in neighboring countries, with around 300,000 in Cameroon.
More than a decade of armed conflict has kept the CAR in a state of perpetual impoverishment, hunger, and ill health. The U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, OCHA reports more than two million people, or more than one-third of the population needs humanitarian assistance to survive. A recent U.N. food assessment finds 2.7 million people, nearly half the population, are acutely food insecure, with 642,000 on the verge of famine. OCHA reports hundreds of thousands of people are suffering from acute malnutrition, most are children under age five. In addition, more than half a million children aged three to 17 are out of school, making them susceptible to recruitment, exploitation, and trafficking.
Facts
- Weakened institutions and the constant threat of violence compound the multiple risks to the rights of children. The fact that the crisis in CAR has been stretched out over so many years – and that, sadly, so many other global crises continue to unfold in parallel – means that the children of CAR have become painfully invisible. But their pain and loss are profoundly evident.
- However, there is hope. Now is a critical moment; indeed, it is the moment for the international community to rally for a change of course for the children of CAR, according to UNICEF.
- Amid this rare moment of opportunity, the greatest risk is that the champions these children rely on–international donors, global media, and an informed public–may turn their backs and look away in the face of simultaneous global crises.
Figures
- 1 in 2 children do not have access to health services.
- Around just one-third (37%) of children attend school regularly.
- Almost 40% of the children in the country suffer from chronic malnutrition.
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Sources: United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF); Human Rights Watch (HRW); Deutsche Welle (DW); Voice of America (VOA); The World Bank.
