Central African Republic - Common Humanitarian Fund - UNDP 2018

February 2018 – Following a coup d’état in March 2013 the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) rapidly deteriorated. In 2017 the country continued to be plagued by violent conflict between armed groups and inter-communal violence. The number of displaced people in the country has increased to over 1.24 million comprised of roughly 688 000 internally displaced people and 556 375 refugees – the highest number ever recorded in CAR. In 2018 an estimated 2.5 million people in CAR will require humanitarian assistance. GAC and other donors are providing funding to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the Central African Republic Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF). This Fund provides timely allocations to national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as United Nations agencies to address some of the most critical humanitarian needs in CAR. The CHF’s main objectives include: (1) supporting timely responses to sudden crises and critical gaps in humanitarian operations; (2) supporting the transportation of humanitarian supplies and personnel as well as improved communications and storage capacity; and (3) capacity-building for national NGOs equipping them with strengthened financial and management tools to implement humanitarian responses.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased access for the most vulnerable to life-saving humanitarian assistance (e.g. food nutrition health protection shelter water sanitation and hygiene support); (2) increased capacity of the humanitarian system to respond to urgent needs; and (3) increased capacity among national humanitarian organizations to effectively respond to urgent needs. The expected ultimate outcome is lives saved suffering alleviated and human dignity maintained in countries experiencing humanitarian crises or acute food insecurity.