The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) says at least two-thirds of all children in the Central African Republic (CAR) need emergency aid amid an escalating crisis that has left thousands of children trapped within armed groups, and thousands more subjected to sexual violence.
In its recent report, UNICEF said around 1.5 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance, with at least 43,000 children under the age of five “projected to face an extremely high risk of death due to severe acute malnutrition next year”. The U.N. children’s fund considers the Central African Republic to be one of the most difficult and dangerous places in the world to be a child.
“CAR has the world’s second-highest newborn death rate and maternal mortality ratio, fewer than three out of five children make it through primary school, and almost half the population has no access to clean water,” the report said.
UNICEF’s top representative in the country, Christine Muhigana, said the plight of children “desperately needed the world’s attention” as the crisis is growing increasingly desperate and resources are at breaking point.
The aid agency says the money is needed to provide lifesaving food and medicine for severely malnourished children, as well as other needs like immunization campaigns and to provide clean water and sanitation.
CAR has struggled to recover from a 2013 civil war that erupted when Muslim Seleka rebels toppled President Francois Bozize’s government.
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