UNHCR seeks US$164 million for displaced persons in Central African Republic
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a US$164 million appeal to provide life-saving assistance and protection to nearly 1.5 million people uprooted in the Central African Republic (CAR).
This number includes 210,000 who fled a new bout of violence related to the December 2020 presidential election.
A statement by the UNHCR said, with no end in sight to the violence fueling the displacement crisis, nearly one-third of the CAR's population of 4.7 million had been forced to flee.
It said Since the new crisis erupted, some 100,000 people had been displaced inside CAR, while neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo had received 111,000 new arrivals, and refugees continued to cross everyday.
"Many new arrivals are reporting grave human rights abuses inside CAR," the statement said.
"Our colleagues in Gore, Chad, are caring for a 26-year-old refugee mother who was beaten and raped by a rebel with her six-month-old baby at her side after fleeing her home in Maroukounde. She is now pregnant as a result of the assault and is receiving medical and psychosocial support from our teams."
The statement said to enable UNHCR’s targeted and timely protection and assistance to the displaced Central Africans and their hosts, and to ensure our support to governments and other partners, UNHCR required urgent financial contributions.
"Unless funding is swiftly made available, we will be forced to reduce or halt vital assistance, even as the needs are rising," it warned.
The statement said the appeal launched on 26 February for US$35.2 million was to address the ongoing protection crisis and to help UNHCR support the most vulnerable children and families to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, and for monitoring, registration, and documentation.
It also needs US$13.7 million to supply shelter and essential relief to the displaced living in dire conditions inside CAR and in neighbouring countries, and who now depend on the generosity of local host communities.
UNHCR says it needs US$27.8 million for health, nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene to prevent the spread of disease. These needs are compounded by the looming threat of COVID-19.
UNHCR said despite its limited resources, it had scaled up border and protection monitoring to proactively identify and address the most pressing needs of displaced Central Africans.
"We are registering and supporting survivors of sexual violence and mitigating the risk of further gender-based violence."
The statement said UNHCR was also working to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infections by building and equipping quarantine centres and areas for treatment and isolation, as well as testing, distributing masks, raising awareness on COVID-19 prevention and social distancing, and by improving water, sanitation and health resources.
UNHCR said for its humanitarian response to support displaced Central Africans were already "critically low and under severe pressure" due to the rising needs of both refugees and the host communities.
"We are urgently appealing to the international community to mobilize resources to protect and assist the displaced Central Africans and their hosts," the statement said.
-0- PANA MA/RA 28Feb2021
