© UNICEF/NYHQ2012-1161/Sokol
Omar (name changed), 10, stands in a UNICEF-assisted transit centre for recently released former child soldiers, in the town of N’dele, capital of the northern Bamingui-Bangoran Prefecture.
Central African Republic
In 2013, UNICEF and partners plan for:
12,000
children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition access therapeutic food
42,000
children protected from violence, abuse and exploitation in conflict-affected areas
25,000
school-aged children access quality education
2013 requirements (US$)
Humanitarian Situation
Conflict among the army and six armed groups1 in the Central African Republic (CAR) has led to a complex and protracted humanaitrian crisis affecting over 1.79 million people2 including 350,000 children under 5 and 114,000 internally displaced people and returnees. Widespread insecurity has destroyed infrastructure and left children and their families vulnerable, with limited access to water, sanitation, health and education services. In 2012, an additional 20,000 people were affected by flooding in seven prefectures and Bangui, the capital.3 Fighting in Vakaga disrupted the planting season and 20 per cent of the population, or an estimated 12,000 people, suffered from malnutrition in 2012.4 CAR has the ninth highest rate of child mortality in the world,5 with 8 per cent of children aged 6−59 months experiencing moderate acute malnutirition and 1.9 per cent experiencing severe acute malnutirition.6 In conflict-affected areas, only 48 per cent of children, and only 42 per cent of girls, are enrolled in school and there are up to 90 pupils per teacher.7 Approximately 1,500 children are still associated with the Lord’s Resistance Army and other armed groups.
Planned results for 2013
2013 Programme Targets
Nutrition
- 12,000 children under 5 suffering from severe acute malnutrition access therapeutic food
Health
- 36,800 pregnant women and newborns will have access to integrated emergency obstetric and neonatal care in conflict-affected areas
- 400,000 children under 5 and 72,000 pregnant women access health services with improved case management of childhood illnesses and HIV prevention
WASH
- 80,000 internally displaced persons and host community members (including 41,000 children) provided with safe water
- Water and sanitation provided to 90 temporary schools in conflict zones
Child Protection
- 42,000 children protected from violence, abuse and exploitation in conflict-affected areas, particularly those children associated with armed groups
- 1,200 survivors of gender-based violence will have multi-sectorial assistance
Education
- 25,000 school-aged children access quality education (including through temporary structures)
- 300 parent-teacher associations receive training
Non-Food Items
- 25,000 emergency-affected displaced persons receive essential NFI kits
In 2013, UNICEF will support the Government’s response to the humanitarian needs of more than 1.79 million affected people, including 1.34 million children and women. Working with partners, UNICEF will support the scale-up of life-saving nutrition and health interventions by expanding the number of health centres offering treatment for severe acute malnutrition and by strengthening the treatment of childhood diseases, which lead to high morbidity and mortality. UNICEF will provide assistance to community-based organizations to promote key family practices and HIV prevention.
UNICEF will also work in close collaboration with communities and partners in conflict-affected areas to increase access to potable water and appropriate sanitation and hygiene services for an estimated 80,000 internally displaced persons and host community members. UNICEF will provide essential non-food items to 20,000 persons who are affected by natural or man-made disasters. UNICEF will continue to reinforce government efforts to expand essential services to emergency-affected populations through community-based interventions including nutrition and health centres, child protection networks and access to quality education. As lead of the education, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and child protection clusters and supporting the gender-based violence area of responsibility, UNICEF will continue to coordinate with line ministries and more than 20 national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as with affected communities.
Results from 2012
UNICEF originally appealed for US$11,018,000 and later increased requirements to US$12,892,961 through the Consolidated Appeal Process (CAP) at mid-year due to a food security crisis in Vakaga. As of 31 October, US$11,728,922 or 91 per cent of revised requirements were received. UNICEF supported two successful campaigns to give Vitamin A supplementation to children under 5, which reached more children than planned in 2012. With its support to children with severe acute malnutrition, and its assistance in providing emergency-affected children and women access to essential health services, as well as high-impact preventive and curative interventions, UNICEF will have reached all the targets by the end of 2012. However, more funding is required for HIV testing and treatment to reach a greater number of emergency-affected children and pregnant women in the Central African Republic. While early childhood development activities reached almost half of the target, education targets to provide access to temporary learning spaces for primary school children have been surpassed by a large margin, thanks to the availability of funds. UNICEF will also reach its water, sanitation and hygiene targets by the end of 2012, while results for the cluster are lower than planned due to lower funding levels for partners.
UNICEF funding requirements for 2013
In line with the country’s inter-agency 2013 Consolidated Appeal Process, UNICEF is requesting US$11,516,945 to meet the humanitarian needs of children in the Central African Republic in 2013. Without additional funding, UNICEF will be unable to reinforce the national response to the country’s continuing humanitarian crisis in critical health, nutrition, and WASH services to internally displaced people and those in active conflict zones. Basic supplies for primary education are also urgently needed to uphold children’s right to education.
1 Global Horizontal Notes from 2012: LRA CPJP, MLCJ, UFDR, APRD, FDPC and self-defense militias.
2 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Central African Republic Consolidated Appeal 2012 Mid-Year Review, OCHA, Geneva, November 2011, p. 1.
3 Central African Red Cross, Disaster relief emergency fund (DREF): Central African Republic - Floods, 27 September 2012, <http://www.ifrc.org/docs/Appeals/12/MDRCF013.pdf>, accessed 16 November 2012.
4 Ministère de la Santé Publique, de la Population et de la Lutte Contre le Sida et Ministère du Plan et de l’Economie, Rapport Final : Enquête Nationale sur la Situation Nutritionnelle et la Mortalité en République Centrafricaine, Bangui, 2012, pp. 37, 42..
5 United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2012: Children in an Urban World, UNICEF, New York, February 2012, p. 87.
6 Rapport Final : Enquête Nationale sur la Situation Nutritionnelle et la Mortalité en République Centrafricaine, p. 10.
7 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Central African Republic Education CAP project 2013.