FAO: Half of the Central African Republic population suffers from food insecurity

Over 2.2 million people in the Central African Republic (CAR) or 47% of the population face high or acute food insecurity and require urgent assistance, the UN has warned. Moreover, the UN’s World Food Programme estimates that half a million of people are on the brink of famine.

According to the Integrated Food Insecurity Phase Classification (IPC) made public by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) this May, more than 1.6 million people, or one-third of the population, are in a crisis situation which means that they either miss meals entirely or have to sell their goods to buy food. More than 630,000 people are in an emergency situation, being forced to sell their last animals or other sources of income or pull their children out of school to be able to get food. The UN estimates that about 2.8 million people require humanitarian assistance.

“The people of the Central African Republic have been bearing the brunt of conflict for a decade, and food insecurity has been on the rise for the past years. Yet, never before has the food insecurity outlook been so dire. COVID-19 is keeping borders and markets closed or restricted, hampering the flow of food and driving its price up. Soon, the lean season will set in and rains will make the country’s dirt roads unusable. Delivering food, seeds for planting, and other essential supplies is only going to get tougher. It’s critical that we act fast,” said Perpetua Katepa-Kalala, FAO Representative in the Central African Republic.

Acute food insecurity in CAR is a result of conflict and violence and socio-political, structural, and governance deficiencies. Although the government signed a peace agreement with 14 armed groups in 2019, a new wave of violence and fighting was ignited in late 2020 cutting off the transport corridors necessary to supply food and leading to the displacement of some 740,000 people.

The COVID-19 driven economic crisis has also caused an increase in food prices. For example, the price of cassava, a basic food in CAR, rose by 60% between November 2020 and January 2021 alone. The reactivated conflict has also worsened the living conditions of children and resulted in about 370,000 being internally displaced by April 2021 with thousands requiring treatment because of severe acute malnutrition. In many places, children are unable to attend classes as schools are under constant attack and have been forced to close.

The FAO estimates that it needs US$31.5 million to support 970,000 people by distributing seeds and agricultural tools and providing training to enable farmers to grow food. For its part, the World Food Programme has estimated that it needs US$54.9 million by September 2021 to be able to deliver basic humanitarian assistance, i.e. food. Without this amount the WFP may be forced to limit food rations to those who are in desperate need of them.