Overview
Aug 24th, 2008 by Brock Boddie UNDP CAR
Situated in the very middle of Africa, the Central African Republic (CAR) is landlocked between Chad, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. Roughly the size of France or Texas, the country has endured several coup d’etats since its independence from France in 1960. While the CAR is rich in agricultural, water and mineral resources, its people are among the poorest in the world. The Central African Republic ranks 172nd out of 177 countries on the UNDP Human Development Index, and 67 percent of the population live on less than 1 dollar a day.
CAR overview map and areas affected by violence
For decades, the country has been mired in a development crises. Unlike the virtually every other country in Sub-Saharan Africa, CAR has failed to make any progress in human development for almost three decades. While real incomes in Africa have risen ten-fold, in CAR they have stagnated. CAR has also seen no improvement on almost every indicator from health, education and governance to the ease of doing business.
CAR’s development crisis has played no small role in planting the seeds of conflict. The complete lack of economic opportunity and social services have fuelled rebellions in the north of the country. As a result, an estimated 300,000 Central Africans have been forced to flee their homes: 198,000 have been internally displaced, and some 102,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad, Cameroon and Sudan.
The country’s development problems, having languished for so long and now exacerbated by conflict, have turned the Central African Republic into a humanitarian crisis. Basic public services, such as education, health, and drinking water have become all but unavailable in the north. Schools have enormous difficulty operating, and even when they do, the quality of instruction, facilities, and tools are severely lacking. Food security is seriously at risk. Throughout CAR, roads, bridges and other civil infrastructure are thoroughly dilapidated, rendering aid operations difficult and sometimes impossible.
Since the democratic elections in 2005, the government has begun to make some progress, spearheading an inclusive political dialogue intended on bringing the conflict to a close. Moreover, humanitarian and development aid to CAR has begun to increase — allowing projects ranging from agriculture to security sector reform to move ahead in earnest. There is still a tremendous amount to be done, but CAR has started to make fragile progress.
Background info
Read more about the humanitarian and development situation in the Central African Republic:
Eye witness
Learn more about the descend of the Central African Republic from a development into a humanitarian crisis, and the slow recovery from Dr Ione, an italian doctor who spent more than 35 years in the country. Click here for the full interview series.
