The Central African 
Republic in 2016:

Progress and challenges

Dear friends, partners and supporters,

We are very happy to share this multimedia document, which is aimed to provide information on the situation of the children and women in the Central African Republic, updates on what UNICEF is doing to adress their needs, as well as some of the media reports issued in 2016.

UNICEF teams have been working tirelessly in 2016, as they have always done and will continue to do. There is still a very long way to go to make sure that every child in the country gets a fair chance in life. In 2017, we will need your help and support more than ever!

Since December 2012, the Central African Republic has been facing a complex humanitarian and protection crisis. In 2017, close to half of the population will still be in need of humanitarian assistance, including over a million children.              

In 2016, Central African voters elected a new President and Parliament, showing their determination to put an end to the crisis that has been plaguing the country since 2012. But the situation remains dire: entire regions remain beyond the effective control or authority of the Government, as armed groups and criminal activities prevent the return of rule of law. Even before the current crisis, the Central African Republic was lacking basic social services for children. It has become one of the most difficult and dangerous countries in the world for children.

By the end of 2016, an estimated one in five Central African children were still either internally displaced or refugees in neighboring countries. Many of the existing social services –health centres, schools, birth registration- are no longer functioning: some have been destroyed or looted, some have no personnel, some are out of reach because of insecurity or simply because the roads are in poor condition.

 One third of children are not enrolled in school, and it is estimated that only half of the health facilities nationwide are currently functional. One in seven children die before their fifth birthday, and the maternal mortality rate is also one of the worst in the world (890/100,000).

UNICEF and partners are addressing both emergency humanitarian needs and reconstruction programmes.


The 2016-2017 school year started on 19 September with a robust national Back to School Campaign.    

There is a progressive return of children to classrooms. However, due in part to a lack of teachers at assigned duty posts and ongoing insecurity in many areas, too many children are still not going to school.

Over a third of the schools in the Central African Republic (36 per cent) are little more than huts.

There is  an average of one teacher for every 91 students. 42 per cent are community teachers who are supported by the community, and without officially recognized qualification. In some areas, 90 per cent of teachers are community teachers (maîtres-parents).

UNICEF supports the government in the restoration of the basic education system through programs funded by the European Union (€21 million over three years); and the Global Partnership for Education ($15.5 million over three years). UNICEF works in all districts with national and international NGOs to ensure the programme has national coverage. Results which have been realised in 2016 include provision of teacher training for 1,312 teachers and 1,518 community teachers, (maîtres-parents); construction or rehabilitation of 144 schools; distribution of teaching and learning materials for 390,000 children and 6,000 teachers; and capacity strengthening for Ministry of Education authorities in planning, management and supervision.

As part of Education in Emergency programming, UNICEF supports temporary learning spaces that offer learning and psycho-social services for approximately 40,000 children in IDP sites and in areas affected by persistent insecurity.

Even before the current crisis, 

the Central African Republic 

had some of the lowest 

maternal and child 

health indicators in the world.

Vaccination: In 2015, only half of health centers provided immunization services, often with limited access. UNICEF is providing vaccines and supporting the rehabilitation of the cold chain through provision of solar and oil refrigerators for health facilities, as well as supporting immunization campaigns. In 2016, 1.5 million children were immunised against measles through a nationwide campaign, and over 870,000 children were immunized against polio.

HIV:  UNICEF supports prevention, medical care and psychosocial support for pregnant women, children and adolescents: half of pregnant women and 30 per cent of children living with HIV receive ARV treatment. 

Malnutrition: Some 41per cent of the children under five years of age suffer from chronic malnutrition (also known as stunting), which impacts normal development. 

From January to October 2016, more than 20,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition were treated. UNICEF provides nutrition items, essential drugs, anthropometric equipment, and trains health workers in order to improve the quality of care for severe malnutrition, as well as to raise awareness and prevent malnutrition at community level.

Community health services: the ongoing crisis and the persistent insecurity have damaged the health system; therefore the population’s access to basic health services has been seriously restrained. UNICEF and the European Union support the country’s health transition plan and fund a project that develops an approach in training, equiping and supporting community health agents in parts of the country that have limited access to health services. 

An estimated 6,000 to 10,000 children have been recruited by armed groups since the beginning of the crisis in 2012. These figures could even be higher after the results of current assessments.

Children associated with armed groups: in May 2015, at the Bangui Peace and Reconciliation forum, the leaders of the ten armed groups committed to release all children in their ranks, refrain from further recruitments of minors, and give free access to UNICEF teams, MINUSCA child protection teams and partners in the areas they control. Since January 2014, over 9,000 children have been released and assisted by UNICEF partners. 


Since January 2016, over 300 separated and unaccompanied children have been cared for and reunited with their families and communities. The majority of separated and unaccompanied children were identified through child-friendly spaces set up in sites for children displaced by armed conflict.

Gender-based violence: Between January and October 2016, UNICEF and partners provided psychosocial support and medical assistance to over 1,600 victims of sexual violence. UNICEF has strengthened prevention actions against sexual abuse and exploitation involving UN staff (military and civilian), international NGOs or international military forces.

Reducing the incidence of child marriages: According to the most recent figures, 29 per cent of girls are married before the age of 15. UNICEF, the Ministry of Social Affairs, UNFPA, UNDP, and MINUSCA have set up a working group that coordinates the work of the actors on the ground (advocacy and support to the victims). 

Birth registration: Before the current crisis, almost half of all births were not officially registered. Since 2012, the rate of birth registration has further deteriorated as many government centres have been damaged or destroyed. UNICEF supports the rehabilitation of registration services through distribution of birth certificates, equipment and office supplies as well as the training of government officials.

Only one third of the population in the Central African Republic has access to clean water and proper sanitation infrastructure.       

Much of the equipment is obsolete and has been damaged during the crisis (shutdown of drinking water systems in secondary towns, 30 per cent of boreholes equipped with pumps are not functional).

Accessibility is also a problem. Insecurity and the poor condition of roads delay maintenance of existing infrastructure and prevent installation of new equipment. As a result, the population is exposed to water-borne diseases, such as cholera, which has killed more than 20 people this year along the Ubangi river and in the capital.

In 2016, UNICEF supported the construction of 52 mechanized drilled boreholes and 32 manual drilled boreholes equipped with hand pumps as well as the rehabilitation of 401 boreholes to provide water to 246,000 people. Support was provided to SODECA (the national water company) in the form of chemical products in order to treat drinking water for the urban networks.

WASH interventions in schools and health centres have provided water to 40 schools and 33 health facilities.

UNICEF also provides water and sanitation in Internally Displaced Persons sites (water provision for more than 400,000 people, latrine and shower construction and management, waste management).

UNICEF is also promoting implementation of Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in order to discourage open defecation, which is responsible of for many preventable diseases, especially in children.

Up to 60 per cent of the total population in the Central African Republic is under the age of 24.  Insufficient attention to the general needs of young people carries with it social, economic, political and health consequences.  

Grassroots involvement and inclusion, especially of youth, is vital to rebuild CAR, where more than 60 per cent of young people are living in extreme poverty:

Net secondary school enrolment rates are at 18 per cent.

Child marriage rates are high (68 per cent of girls under 18 and 29 per cent of girls under 15).

The teenage pregnancy rate is over 45 per cent.

Through a joint programme with the Ministry of Youth and UNFPA, UNICEF initiated a national participatory analysis on the needs and aspirations of adolescents; launched a national communication campaign to strengthen the capacity of 20,000 youth in the promotion of peace and social cohesion; rehabilitated 10 youth centres; and provided capacity building in 12 health centres to facilitate access of adolescents to health services.

UNICEF also funds Ureport, an SMS-based forum for national dialogue on issues that affect youth, reaching more than 18,000 youth countrywide.

Established in 2013 as a pilot project, the Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) has served as an effective emergency response mechanism that provides help to the most vulnerable populations when they are affected by a humanitarian shock. 

The RRM is used as a last resort when there is little local
capacity. It targets extremely isolated communities whose vulnerability has increased due to a humanitarian emergency.

At the core of the strategy is the pre-positioning of teams and supplies which allow for a rapid response, a greater understanding of the local terrain, and improved acceptance by the local communities.

Following a confirmed alert, and if no other type of evaluation is possible, the RRM will deploy a team to conduct a multi sectorial assessment. The evaluation will measure household vulnerability in the areas of: water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH), emergency non-food items and shelter (NFI), health/nutrition, food security, education and protection.  The RRM will implement an emergency response (WASH, NFI) if there are no capacities on the ground.

The RRM has four NGO partners: PU AMI , ACTED, ACF and Solidarités International, and covers 70 per cent of the Central African Republic through an extensive community network that the monitoring of the humanitarian situation.

In 2016, the RRM has received 170 alerts on humanitarian impacts. The total number of beneficiaries in 2016 is 135,534 people receiving NFIs, while 70,017 people received WASH support. The beneficiaries were communities in a state of extreme vulnerability living in very remote parts of the country.

In 2017, the RRM is planning to extend its coverage of the Central African Republic with a target of reaching 180,000 individuals.

Thanks for your support! 
We wish you all the best for 2017!