Brussels, 20/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - $496 million (€366 million) pledged by the international donors to step up emergency interventions and short- and medium-term assistance in the Central African Republic: this was a great success for the high-level EU-UN humanitarian conference which welcomed some 40 countries to Brussels on Monday 20 January, together with representatives of the African Union, multilateral financial institutions and some 20 NGOs, under the joint presidency of Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and Valerie Amos, Under Secretary General and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations (see EUROPE 10999 and 10990). Of this amount, €150 million will go to humanitarian aid (emergency aid, aid for refugees, food aid and supply of seeds) and the rest has been earmarked as a development and stabilisation fund.
The European Commission announced a contribution of a further US$60 million (€45 million) to respond to the most acute needs of the population, such as shelter, food, health, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene. The US announced a contribution of a further US$45 million, France US$47 million (€35 million), Sweden almost US$10 million, the World Bank US$100 million, and the African Development Bank US$75 million.
“This too long forgotten crisis has come out of the shadows, as the active contributions of the donor countries bear witness. The commitment pledges total nearly half a billion dollars including $200 million to cover the immediate needs and $496 million to finance stabilisation measures like the restoration of basic services”, European Commissioner for Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalian Georgieva said during a press conference. She added that, “in Bangui, the state is evaporating. What is more, two months away from the rainy season, it is crucial that the international community mobilise because the lack of harvest could result in a huge tragedy. This is why it is important to act together on the emergency aid front and on early rehabilitation. This overall approach in the CAR could serve as a model for the response to other crises in the future”.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos stressed that they were deeply concerned about the fragmentation and fragility of the situation on the ground and about the reports from NGOs of growing sectarian violence. “The CAR is ranked as a level three humanitarian crisis corresponding to the highest level of emergence. The donors have been generous. The call for funds for the next 100 days (US$152 million, in other words €111.8 million until the beginning of April) is fully covered and the donors have agreed to link the humanitarian work to the widest stabilisation agenda”, she said.
France's Deputy Minister for Development Pascal Canfin spoke of an “undeniable success which should enable 100% coverage of the emergency plan and 90% of the estimated needs for 2014 (Ed: US$550 million). The next donors' conference scheduled in Addis Ababa for 1 February will focus more on security but could see other commitments enabling the totality of needs to be covered”, he said. He added optimistically that “with the result of this conference, combined with the European military engagement and the political process relaunched in Bangui by the transition council, we could consider 20 January as the turning point that enabled the CAR to exit the crisis” (see other article).
The current crisis affects the majority of the population (4.6 million people, half of whom are children). Nearly 60% of people from the Central African Republic are in urgent need of help. The CAR thus far counts more than 900,000 displaced people. Over 86,000 people from the CAR found shelter in the neighbouring countries last year. In 2013, the European Commission and 14 member states provided €76.7 million (as compared with €20 million in 2012), including €39 million from the Commission alone, which makes the EU the biggest provider of humanitarian aid (our translation throughout). (AN/transl.fl)