2 - 9 June 2008 - Highlights:

• Plans to sign global peace agreement with armed group in Libreville.
• Joachim Chissano, Special UN Envoy for areas affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on a visit to Central African Republic on 4 June.
• 1,400 displaced people at Kamba Kota
• Update on Catholic Rescues Services (CRS) micro projects.

Background and security

The global peace agreement in Libreville

The Minister of Communication, Civism, Dialogue and National Reconciliation, Mr. Cyriaque Gonda, announced Saturday in Bangui that the global agreement with armed groups will be signed in mid-June in Libreville, in the presence of Gabonese President El Hadji Omar Bongo Odimba, the Chairman of the ad hoc commission for the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).

“The government is looking forward to sign the global agreement with the three armed groups. Before that, a date will be determined by the Committee of Organization which will be ready in the next coming days, “said Gonda, during a press briefing.

Joachim Chissano in CAR

The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for areas affected by the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano, visited the Central African Republic on 4 June. During his visit, the Special Envoy was briefed on crimes committed by the LRA against civilians in Haut-Mbomou prefecture in the south-eastern of the CAR.

“Our primary concern is to protect people who suffer abuses of these rebels. In negotiations with them, we insist that the population is spared.”

The visit to Bangui of M. Chissano occurs 3 months after the attacks by the LRA who have affected the population of Haut-Mbomou.

Current events

The fight against communicable diseases

Following the announcement of the Ministry of Health in April of the resurgence of communicable diseases including hepatitis E, yellow fever and polio in CAR, the Ministry has organized vaccination campaigns with the support the World Health Organization (WHO).

In response to two cases of yellow fever diagnosed among older men in Bozoum, a vaccination campaign will begin on June 12. The campaign will cover Bozoum sub-prefecture targeting more than 55,000 people older than 9 months, except pregnant women. The WHO will provide technical and financial support to the implementation of the response.

In addition, from 9 to 12 June, WHO will support a second campaign response covering the entire sub-prefecture of Bozoum targeting nearly 55,035 people aged between 9 months and over (except for women pregnant).

WHO has conducted an assessment mission to Begoua (13 km from the capital) and Alindao in Basse-Kotto to determine the situation of the hepatitis E outbreak.

For more information: dembag@cf.afro.who.int

1,400 displaced people in Kamba Kota

A joint mission of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the United Nations Office in the Central African Republic (BONUCA) has come across displaced people in make-shift shelters in Kamba Kota, a village 50 km west of Batangafo in the north of the country.

About 1,400 displaced people have been living in the village for three months, following attacks by armed bandits who killed 37 people, according to their testimonies. They come from Kambandja, Kassai and Kagoué II villages on the road to Ouogo to the north of Kamba Kota.

At the moment, the displaced people get water from the river and eat mainly cassava leaves. Their huts are made of branches and leaves and they don’t have the money to pay for healthcare in a nearby health centre. In spite of these challenges, they are planning for the future: they have started building a school which will soon be operational with the help of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

For more information: legast@unhcr.org

Achievements of CRS micro projects

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) opened an office in Bangui in April 2007 to bring relief to the underprivileged sections of the population in line with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The NGO supports vulnerable people in the capital and the nine dioceses of the country in collaboration with the local Caritas and with the support of the Regional Small Projects Fund, their own internal resources.

During the 2007-2008 school year, CRS assists a group of AIDS orphans in Bangui by paying for school fees books and medical care. The World Food Programme (WFP) provides the midday meal.

In May, CRS has completed the construction and rehabilitation of 15 houses in Fatima, a neighborhood in the capital. The houses are occupied by elderly people, rejected by their family on the grounds of witchcraft. They are also receiving food and other essential goods.

The NGO further produced educational material for HIV/AIDS information sessions which are being organized by the National Health Commission (CoNaSan) in the nine catholic dioceses of the country. More than fifty trainers acquired teaching abilities on life skills and HIV/AIDS, which they are to transmit to peer educators. At the end of the trainings in September 67,500 people of hard-to-reach communities will have received information which will help them to improve their family life and to protect them from HIV.

CRS plans to extend its activities to orphan care in four provinces in the center of the country and to food security. This includes the fight against cassava mosaic disease, a plant disease which affects cassava crops, support to agricultural cooperatives and farm rehabilitation. CRS is negotiating the funding of these projects with a number of donors.

For more information: jmbihizi.crscar@gmail.com

Click here to download the bulletin in English (PDF; 124 KB)

Click here to download the bulletin in French (PDF; 127 KB)

For more information, contact UN OCHA Bangui, CAR
Nancy Snauwaert | snauwaert@un.org | +236 75 54 22 78
Gisèle Willybiro | willybiro@un.org | +236 75 54 90 31