Central African Republic - Common Humanitarian Fund - UNDP 2019

February 2019 - After a brief period of calm in 2016 the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) started to deteriorate at an alarming rate in 2017. This trend continued through 2018 which saw a spike in attacks against peacekeepers and civilians alike mass looting widespread banditry and territorial conflicts between armed groups. The crisis in CAR is in essence a protection crisis with violence against civilians particularly women and girls and SGBV cases commonplace. Approximately 40% of the population is food insecure and only 54% of the population has access to clean water. Regular violence across the 80% of the country that is controlled by armed groups continues to exacerbate displacement; currently one quarter of the country's population is displaced either internally or as refugees in neighbouring countries. 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 NGOs as well as UN agencies to address some of the most critical humanitarian needs in CAR. Project activities 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 non-governmental organizations 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.