UN agencies warn of food crisis within four months

UN agencies active in the Central African Republic (CAR) have warned that the country could experience a severe food crisis within the next four months. In an effort to draw greater attention of the media and international donors, representatives of seven UN agencies held a news conference on Monday in Kinshasa, capital of neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). "The Central African Republic could experience an acute food crisis by February or March if no action is taken," Samuel Nana-Sinkam, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in the CAR, told reporters. He said that the people of CAR, the majority of whom are farmers, had to eat their seed supplies before fleeing an armed rebellion in the country, from October 2002 until 15 March 2003, when former army chief of staff Francois Bozize seized power from President Ange-Felix Patasse. The six months of hostilities caused the displacement of an estimated 1.5 million people, many of whom have since returned to their home areas, Nana-Sinkam said. However, some 40,000 Central Africans remain refugees in southern Chad, unable to return because of roadblocks. Furthermore, "small livestock was completely wiped out during the fighting", Albert Bango-Makoudou, of the World Food Programme (WFP), said. In order to meet anticipated needs, the UN agencies have launched a joint appeal for US $19.2 million. Of this total, $3.6 million would be for the health sector; $7.7 million would be used to help reinvigorate the economy and ensure food security; $2.1 million would be for the education sector; $1,735,000 would be used to improve civilian security; and $3 million would go towards community rehabilitation projects. Furthermore, $690,000 would be needed to help provide security for humanitarian operations, while $260,000 would be used to help build national crisis response capacities and coordination. In addition to FAO and WFP, UN agencies represented at Monday's news conference included the UN Development Programme, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Heath Organization, the UN Children's Fund and the UN Population Fund. They were scheduled to travel to Douala, Cameroon, to reiterate their appeal.