The United Nations issued an urgent call for humanitarian assistance to the Central African Republic, “the world’s most forgotten emergency.” After the Séléka rebel coalition overthrew the government in March 2013, violence replaced law and order as rebel groups began to fight one another. This ongoing instability continues to threaten a large portion of the country’s population of 5.1 million persons.
The conflict has displaced more than 260,000 people of which 100,000 are children. According to UN human rights expert Chaloka Beyani, “the situation of all those displaced, who hide in remote areas, including in the bush, in poor sanitary conditions and without access to basic services or clean services is extremely worrying.”
The Central African Republic’s 2.3 million children not only face displacement from their homes, but also face the constant threat of violence. Many children witness family members beaten and threatened, while others become victims themselves faced with sexual abuse and forced recruitment into service as child soldiers.
Struggling to survive in this crisis situation, the country’s children have little to no access to education. With schools destroyed, occupied or closed by armed rebel groups, more than one million children remain unschooled. Additionally, teachers, school supplies, and funding remain scarce. As a result, hundreds of thousands of children throughout the country live entirely without education.
Those who escape the violence not only lose their homes but also face harsh conditions due to food scarcity, widespread looting and extreme medical shortages of medication, supplies and staff. As a result, many of the displaced suffer from malaria and malnutrition with no health system in place to support them.
According to Mark Kaye at Save the Children, “this isn’t just a forgotten crisis from the coup. This country has been largely ignored for the best part of a decade now.” Even before this most recent conflict escalation, the Central African Republic ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world according to the Human Development Index.
Creative Commons Love: hdptcar on Flickr.com
