The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
STORYLINE
UN needs $68.4 million to help Central African Republic where 2.2 million are acutely food insecure
A sharp increase in essential goods in the Central African Republic (CAR) linked to war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already humanitarian situation there in coming weeks, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
Some 2.2 million people are already acutely food insecure in the Central African Republic, meaning that the global food, fuel and fertilizer crisis sparked by the Russian invasion of its neighbour on 24 February will put basic food commodities and staples “out of the reach of many people”, warned Tomson Phiri, WFP spokesperson.
“The figure may not shock you out of your seats, but when you look at the population size, that’s nearly half the population of the of the Central African Republic,” he told journalists in Geneva.
To help, the UN agency needs $68.4 million urgently. “Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people,” Mr. Phiri warned, adding that a sharp increase in commodity prices is only weeks away. “We expect a 30 per cent increase in rice, a 67 per cent increase for the price of wheat flour and a staggering 70 per cent increase in the price of vegetable oil.”
To put CAR’s food insecurity crisis into context, the country is on a par with Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan, in terms of its proportion of acutely food insecure people.
Its problems stem from protracted internal armed conflict since 2012 that has killed thousands, driven mass displacement and left two out of three civilians dependent on humanitarian aid, amid fighting between the mostly Christian anti-Balaka militia and the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition.
Just last month, the senior UN official in the country, Valentine Rugwabiza, told the Security that horrific attacks against civilians had risen, while efforts to chart a peaceful future for the country had lapsed into a state of “de facto lethargy”.
The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for the Central African Republic was referring to CAR’s adoption of its Joint Road Map for Peace in October 2021, which represented an attempt to implement a 2019 peace agreement, known as the Khartoum Accord, signed between the Government and 14 non-State armed groups.
Structural factors have also contributed to a “progressive deterioration” of livelihoods and food security, such as high demographic growth, widespread poverty, unemployment and the degradation of natural resources.
Although the country often sees fuel shortages between May and July that correspond to the beginning of the rainy season, this year, CAR started running dry this year in mid-March. The impact on the UN agency’s relief efforts and local populations will likely be dramatic and lead to “an early hunger gap”, it warned in a statement.
“At the back of our minds as well, is the impact that fuel - which is out of reach - high transport costs, is having on our own operations,” said Mr. Phiri. “Now, because we are struggling as well as an agency, what that means is that our teams on the ground are making last-ditch efforts to preposition food into deficit areas. Now, prepositioning is when we move food in advance of the lean season and the rainy season which cuts access to nearly half the country.”
ends
STORY: Central African Republic – World Food Programme
TRT: 2 mins 00s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC/ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 5 July 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Medium shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, Press conference room, podium speakers, large TV screens showing broadcast image.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme: “The United Nations World Food Programme is appealing urgently for $68.4 million. Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people.”
- Medium shot, participants wearing facemasks, side shot, large TV screen showing podium speaker to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme: “There are now 2.2 million people who are acutely food insecure in the Central African Republic. Well, the figure may not shock you out of your seats, but when you look at the population size, that’s nearly half the population of the of the Central African Republic.”
- Medium shot, participants, masked, typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme: “We anticipate a sharp increase in commodity prices starting from August 2022. We expect a 30 per cent increase in rice, a 67 per cent increase for the price of wheat flour and a staggering 70 per cent increase in the price of vegetable oil.”
- Close up, showing hands typing on laptop.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Tomson Phiri, UN World Food Programme: “At the back of our minds as well, is the impact that fuel - which is out of reach - high transport costs, is having on our own operations. Now, because we are struggling as well as an agency, what that means is that our teams on the ground are making last-ditch efforts to preposition food into deficit areas. Now, prepositioning is when we move food in advance of the lean season and the rainy season which cuts access to nearly half the country.”
- Medium shot, podium speakers, large TV screen to rear.
- Medium shot, participants, masked, seated at table, typing.
- Medium shot, participants seated at table, working on laptops or checking mobile phone.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.