Central African Republic: Humanitarian Response Plan, January 2024 – Central African Republic

Summary of trend history

The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) aims at a sustained response focused on the centrality of protection, guided by the preferences of affected populations, while preserving their lives and dignity and strengthening their resilience to shocks, as new crises have created new sources of humanitarian needs and where reduced funding has affected the humanitarian environment in CAR, with only 56% of funds mobilized in 2023. In light of the country’s improved humanitarian situation and a decrease in the number of people in need, 1.9 million people are targeted out of the 2.8 million people identified as extremely vulnerable in the Humanitarian Needs Overview. The humanitarian community will ensure that chronically vulnerable people do not exceed the emergency threshold.

The 2024 Response Plan will in fact be modelled in essence on the latest disaster areas and the vital needs of populations facing critical levels of vulnerability. This Response Plan paves the way for other types of stakeholders to address the structural needs that remain of concern and that lead to further humanitarian vulnerabilities in the event of new shocks. This complementarity is closely linked to the results of consultations and the priorities of affected communities. The response will therefore also pay particular attention to the vulnerabilities of populations experiencing prolonged displacement.

Context and impact of the crisis

2.8 million people – 46% of the Central African population – will be extremely vulnerable, to the extent that humanitarian assistance alone will not be enough to ensure their well-being. In 2023, around seven out of ten Central Africans will live below the poverty line, on less than US$2.15 per day, making the CAR one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. This situation not only magnifies the impact of even small shocks on the lives of the population, but also exacerbates the vulnerability of households with limited resilience. Rates of food insecurity and malnutrition, maternal and child mortality, illiteracy and early marriage remain quite worrying at the national level, while the reality of the inherent structural needs of the situation continues to negatively impact the lives of populations facing multiple levels of vulnerability.

Discrimination against women/girls and people with disabilities at all levels of society is an obstacle to their full participation in social and economic life. Gender gaps contribute to high levels of gender-based violence (GBV), with more than 11,000 cases recorded between January and September 2023, of which 31% were rapes (96% of victims are essentially women or girls). This discrimination is reinforced by socio-cultural norms that are unfavourable to women and girls. In addition, there are conflict-related human rights violations linked to conflict (146 cases of conflict-related sexual violence with 196 victims, including 2 men, 90 women and 102 girls). In remote, hard-to-reach areas characterised by the presence of armed groups, illiteracy rates among women and girls are estimated at 90%. People with disabilities are also excluded from education systems and other basic services, due to inadequate infrastructure that does not take their needs into account (73.8% of people with disabilities surveyed cannot read or write).

Rising fuel prices and the crises in Chad and Sudan have disrupted supply chains already weakened by the war in Ukraine. The sharp rise in fuel prices has contributed significantly to the increase in food prices, mainly due to the overall increase in the cost of transport (+17.1%), food (+10.3%) and energy (+3.5%). In 2023, 69% of households in Central Africa will live in extreme poverty, exacerbating an already worrying humanitarian situation in the country, where the food basket has increased by 22% compared to the average of the past four years.

Armed group activism and tensions in neighbouring countries create new vulnerabilities and urgent needs. In 2023, CAR faced three new flashpoints of tension, namely the arrival of refugees and returnees since the start of the war in Sudan, the presence of asylum seekers and returnees fleeing intercommunal violence in southeastern Chad, and the multiple waves of displacement in southeastern CAR following the emergence in March 2023 of a self-defense group in the southeastern part of the country. These events fuel a growing sense of insecurity, leading to an influx of Chadian asylum seekers, Sudanese refugees and Central African returnees into already vulnerable areas that benefit from limited humanitarian assistance. As a result, the total number of refugees and asylum seekers has increased by 25% (62,000 refugees in November 2023 versus 11,967 at the end of 2022), creating an urgent need for humanitarian assistance and protection.

Financial stress exposes children to increased risk of multiple forms of exploitation, including the worst forms of child labour or sexual exploitation. Of the 3,664 total cases of GBV in children recorded between January and September 2023, 84% were cases of sexual violence. The psychological and social impacts of the crisis in CAR threaten to compromise the long-term mental health and psychosocial well-being of children and adolescents. Compounded by the recurring shocks, the risk of school dropout and the subsequent risk of increased rights violations for Central African children is amplified, taking into account that only 31% of girls versus 50% of boys aged 14-24 attend school.

Clinical care for rape survivors within 72 hours remains a major challenge across the country. In 2023, only 29% of GBV cases received psychosocial support and medical care within the required 72-hour time frame.

The increased access to explosives is restricting humanitarian access and civilian movements in several areas. In 2023, the use of explosives increased by 15% and of the 62 recorded incidents involving explosives between January and October, more than three-quarters of the victims were civilians. The presence of explosives, particularly in the west of the country, is significantly restricting humanitarian access, where numerous access restrictions already exist.

Rain and river flooding remain a permanent risk for several parts of the country, exacerbating other types of shocks and humanitarian vulnerabilities. As of 1 December 2023, more than 85,000 people were affected by flooding, a decrease from the previous year (100,000 people affected in 2022), possibly due to the delayed rainy season.

Population movements remain the most visible manifestation of the crisis in CAR. One in five Central Africans is internally displaced or has sought refuge primarily in neighbouring countries. As of 30 September 2023, the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) was estimated at 440,840, of whom 27% live in camps and 73% with host families. 12% of the total population in a situation of forced displacement moved in 2023, mainly women and children under the age of 181. The main shocks related to new displacement in 2023 were: conflict-related violence, incidents related to transhumance, floods and threats from armed groups. In addition, the number of IDPs returning or resettling locally increased by 4% and returns from abroad increased by 5%, the majority of whom were Central Africans fleeing communal violence in Chad and armed conflict in Sudan.

Despite new waves of displacement, the intention to return among the displaced population is high. 35% of displaced people in camps and 75% of those living with host families plan to return home in the coming months or opt for local integration.

In addition to logistical challenges, violence against humanitarian personnel, goods and infrastructure is a barrier to access for humanitarian populations and services. Between October 2022 and November 2023, 197 incidents against humanitarian workers were reported, mainly robberies and burglaries (59%, 117 incidents), interference and restrictions on movement (28%, 55 incidents) and threats and intimidation of humanitarian workers (13%, 25 incidents). The impact of poor infrastructure on physical access across the country and the presence of explosive devices (especially in the west) intensify the challenges to humanitarian access, in addition to the usual seasonal constraints. These factors drastically slow down the transit of humanitarian aid in the most affected and confined areas, including the southeast, east and northeast of CAR. They also affect the cost of operations and are out of step with the financing trend for humanitarian response funding in CAR.