New York/Bangui: Interim Humanitarian Coordinator Mai Moussa Abari has signed off the latest projects to benefit from the Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF).
The CHF was established in the Central African Republic (CAR) in July 2008 to provide funding that is both strategic as well being readily available for emergencies. Its first allocation last year was USD 2.3 million; this year’s first tranche has risen to USD 4.1 million.
Using participatory decision-making, funding is allocated sector by sector in an open inclusive process in which all interested agencies take part.
After years in the bush, children celebrate returning to
their home village in north-west CAR.
Louise Williams/OCHA/2009”During allocation rounds, the highest-priority underfunded sectors receive support,” explained Jean-Sébastien Munié, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in CAR. ”This has helped compensate for unequal funding between sectors in our humanitarian appeal.”
The Central African Republic is one of the poorest countries in the world and basic health indicators remain amongst the worst in Africa. Funding from the CHF will support projects by 18 local and international non-governmental organizations and UN agencies to bring aid to areas affected by conflict, banditry and displacement.
Activities include the provision of life-saving drugs and clean drinking water and support for victims of rape. The CHF will also support essential shared services such as air access to remote areas, as well as coordination and data collection. In addition to the allocation announced today, the CHF also provides a further reserve for breaking emergencies so that aid agencies can respond at very short notice.
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Once there was a fairy-tale image of the brave and noble humanitarian, who would storm into conflict zones – armed only with vaccines and sacks of food – and indiscriminately save lives, having no other impact that a strictly humanitarian one. In the mid-1990s, that image was shattered. Strikingly common-sensical, Mary Anderson laid out the idea of Do No Harm, based on the realisation that humanitarian assistance takes place within a political context, and that so-called humanitarians, in their eagerness to do good, risked exacerbating tensions and deepening conflicts. Of course, this insight was not new. As long as there have been conflicts, people in violence-ridden countries have seen foreigners appear and influence the course of events. Having them arrive in white Landcruisers with colourful flags hardly changed the essential point that, in a conflict zone, everything is political.
Pierre Holtz for UNICEF / HDPT CAR
Acknowledging that emergency aid can have unintended and potentially disastrous consequences should not, and has not, led humanitarian organisations to pack up their vaccination kits and go home. On the contrary: while the idea of Do No Harm is as relevant today as ever, there is no reason why it could not have a positive twin. This twin idea – ‘Do More Good’ – suggests that impartial and effective humanitarian action can have a positive impact beyond its primary aim of saving lives and relieving suffering, i.e. to create some breathing-space for conflict-torn communities and lay the foundations for stability and development. Just such a window of opportunity may exist today in the Central African Republic. Although this window may close fast, it does appear that positive change could be possible. Aid organisations are playing a central role in helping to bring it about. Continue Reading »
Pierre Holtz/UNICEF/Feb 08
The United Nations humanitarian wing today appealed for donors to provide another $26 million to support its aid activities in the impoverished Central African Republic (CAR), where more than 200,000 people remain displaced from their homes by persistent conflict and banditry over the past two years.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the aid programme launched by the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the CAR this year needs $116 million in funding, but has received only $90 million so far.
UN agencies have vastly expanded the number of programmes they provide in the CAR to help the growing numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees now living in neighbouring countries such as Cameroon, Chad and Sudan.
Humanitarian agencies have also strengthened their presence outside the capital, Bangui, by increasing their number of offices from seven just two years ago to 46 this month.
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Posted in Central African Republic, Country Profiles, HDPT Briefing Material, appeal, conferences, data, development, donor support, facts, humanitarian crisis, sitrep on Jun 12th, 2008 No Comments »
An updated presentation of the general humanitarian and development situation in CAR is now available. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer presented this briefing to donors and other partners in Europe earlier this month, including at an OECD/DAC seminar, during EC consultations in Brussels and with Dutch officials in the Hague. The updated version integrates new developments in security sector reform and political dialogue, as well as other key points.
Download presentation
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The Food and Agricultural Organization publishes its second quarterly bulletin on its activities in the Central African Republic:
- Encouraging results for the 2007/08 market gardening counter season
- Information on the 2008 agricultural season
- Testimonies from beneficiaries of FAO programmes
- FAO representant meets ministry representatives and CEMAC commission President
Click here to download the bulletin (PDF; 299 KB)
UNDP-CAR launched its first annual report today, providing an accessible, thorough overview of the office’s activities in 2007. The aim of the report is to improve UNDP visibility and transparency at the country office level and to engage donors, partners and the interested public in UNDP’s work in CAR. Continue Reading »
Threats in the north of the Central African Republic are shifting. People continue to suffer from violence and a lack of water, medicines, schools and markets. While the armed conflict between the government and militant groups has ceased in the northeast and somewhat declined in the northwest,criminal gangs are wreaking havoc all over the northern and central parts of the country. Almost 300,000 Central Africans remain displaced, either within the country or as refugees abroad. An estimated third of these, some 100,000 people, have fled armed bandits who attack travellers, loot what little people have, and burn whole villages, kidnap children for ransom, and kill people at random.
The Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team (HDPT) in CAR estimates that one million people continue to endure the direct consequences of violence. In order to kick start urgent humanitarian operations, the Emergency Response Fund (ERF) provides immediate financing solutions to the humanitarian actors on the ground. Continue Reading »
More than 2,700 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are currently living on a site near Kabo, Central African Republic, and new people are arriving every day. Returning from the site, a joint evaluation mission, including staff from OCHA and BONUCA, as well as donor representatives, described the humanitarian situation as very precarious.
Meeting with the mayor of Kabo, members of the mission were told that NGOs had been successful in addressing the most urgent problems. For example, the NGO Solidarités installed a water pump providing clean drinking water on the IDP site and the local health centre receives help from Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Continue Reading »
The Food and Agricultural Organization publishes a new bulletin on its activities in the Central African Republic:
- A 3 million USD Emergency program to support refugees and vulnerable populations
- An ambitious programm for the development of CAR agricultural capacities
- The celebrations of the World Food Day in Bocaranga
Looking back on the achievements of 2007, the FAO bulletin sheds light on its objectives for 2008.
Click here to download the bulletin (PDF; 351 KB)
The Central African Republic (CAR) successfully held its first Development Partner Round Table in Brussels on Friday, gathering much needed donor support for the impoverished nation. Donors pledged to spend USD 600 million over the next three years to finance crucial humanitarian and development projects. Continue Reading »
Following the Development Partner Consultation in June 2007, the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) is preparing for its next milestone meeting. President Bozizé and Prime Minister Doté will present the country’s first poverty reduction strategy on October 26 during a round table meeting in Brussels. Many international organizations and donor countries will be present to discuss development and reconstruction plans for the years 2008 to 2010.
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Thanks to the support of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA), construction of the new joint UN office in Paoua in the north-west of the Central African Republic finally began last week.
Establishing a permanent presence in the north of CAR has been a key element of the humanitarian aid programme.
Very soon humanitarian agencies will be able to work closer to the people most in need, who often live in deplorable conditions hundreds of kilometers away from the capital.
The new offices will provide work space for both UN and NGO staff, who strive to provide protection, basic education, health services and clean water to the people of CAR. Follow the work of the Paoua office project team on our Flickr page or in the photo story below.
© SRSA
