Toby Lanzer, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator to the Central African Republic (CAR) is appealing to members of the international donor community to come forth "quickly and generously" in his latest response to the armed rebel attack which broke out recently in the town of Paoua, northwest of the capital, Bangui. Mr. Lanzer stated in a Press briefing at the United Nations that "The impact on people's lives cannot be exaggerated. It is deeply troubling."
Recalling a visit to assess the situation in the Central African Republic in mid November, early December of 2006, Mr. Lanzer told us that he walked two miles into the bush in northeastern CAR where he came across communities of people (who fled from their villages) and described the situation he encountered as "extremely distressing". He stated, "The people were nude, so gone are the days of dignity" (and there are reports that those who’ve sought refuge in the bush are subsisting on nuts and berries). A particularly worrisome aspect of getting aid to the communities affected by this conflict is the logistics on the ground. "It takes four days to get to the north by road - these places are hard to reach", Lanzer said.
Mr. Lanzer described the Central African Republic as "squeezed" between Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is about the size of Texas and considerably larger than France. In the north and east (close to its borders with Chad and Sudan), the problem is grave. One hundred and fifty thousand people have been displaced internally (scattered in the bush), fifty thousand have fled into Chad and thirty thousand to Cameroon. In addition there are seven hundred and fifty thousand "conflict affected" by the violence. The situation is unlike that previously seen in the country, Mr. Lanzer stressed.
With Sudan, the DRC and Chad higher on the international agenda, the task of bringing attention to the crisis in the Central African Republic is that much harder for Toby Lanzer. "It is urgent. We need help in keeping people alive now", he stated. Before Christmas, in an effort to raise money, members of the donor community were flown to the CAR to familiarize them with the situation there. Lanzer said the difficulty is in the lack of partners they have. Only five NGO's are involved in humanitarian action in the CAR in sharp contrast to over one hundred NGO's involved in Angola, for example. Mr. Lanzer added that without them, it becomes very difficult to respond to humanitarian needs.
Previous appeals to the international donor community have been met with a very weak response and Mr. Lanzer hopes countries like Sweden, Ireland, Germany, France, the E.U., U.S., Finland, Norway and Denmark will get engaged in what's going on in the Central African Republic. To this end a meeting was held on Wednesday, in Geneva, with the donor community with hopes they will come forth with "generous gestures", he said.
At the “Program Kick-off” in Geneva, the U.N urged early funding for 2007 in its “humanitarian appeal to provide aid before it was too late. “The Humanitarian Appeal 2007” comprises 13 country-specific consolidated appeals totaling $3.9 billion to address the urgent needs of 27 million people affected by crises in 29 countries.”
According to a U.N. press release, aid to African countries dominated the appeals with operations in Sudan requiring over $1.2 billion, the highest amount.
The appeal seeks funding for the following crises: Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), West Africa, Uganda, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Burundi, the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic (CAR) and the Republic of Congo, as well as the occupied Palestinian territory.
Among those present at the “Kick-Off” in Geneva were the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan; Toni Frisch, Assistant Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Head of the Humanitarian Aid Department; and Toby Porter, Emergencies Director for Save the Children-UK.
Elisa Burchett
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
Please also see:
UN World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation http://www.sdc.admin.ch
Save the Children-UK http://www.savethechildren.org.uk
Recalling a visit to assess the situation in the Central African Republic in mid November, early December of 2006, Mr. Lanzer told us that he walked two miles into the bush in northeastern CAR where he came across communities of people (who fled from their villages) and described the situation he encountered as "extremely distressing". He stated, "The people were nude, so gone are the days of dignity" (and there are reports that those who’ve sought refuge in the bush are subsisting on nuts and berries). A particularly worrisome aspect of getting aid to the communities affected by this conflict is the logistics on the ground. "It takes four days to get to the north by road - these places are hard to reach", Lanzer said.
Mr. Lanzer described the Central African Republic as "squeezed" between Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is about the size of Texas and considerably larger than France. In the north and east (close to its borders with Chad and Sudan), the problem is grave. One hundred and fifty thousand people have been displaced internally (scattered in the bush), fifty thousand have fled into Chad and thirty thousand to Cameroon. In addition there are seven hundred and fifty thousand "conflict affected" by the violence. The situation is unlike that previously seen in the country, Mr. Lanzer stressed.
With Sudan, the DRC and Chad higher on the international agenda, the task of bringing attention to the crisis in the Central African Republic is that much harder for Toby Lanzer. "It is urgent. We need help in keeping people alive now", he stated. Before Christmas, in an effort to raise money, members of the donor community were flown to the CAR to familiarize them with the situation there. Lanzer said the difficulty is in the lack of partners they have. Only five NGO's are involved in humanitarian action in the CAR in sharp contrast to over one hundred NGO's involved in Angola, for example. Mr. Lanzer added that without them, it becomes very difficult to respond to humanitarian needs.
Previous appeals to the international donor community have been met with a very weak response and Mr. Lanzer hopes countries like Sweden, Ireland, Germany, France, the E.U., U.S., Finland, Norway and Denmark will get engaged in what's going on in the Central African Republic. To this end a meeting was held on Wednesday, in Geneva, with the donor community with hopes they will come forth with "generous gestures", he said.
At the “Program Kick-off” in Geneva, the U.N urged early funding for 2007 in its “humanitarian appeal to provide aid before it was too late. “The Humanitarian Appeal 2007” comprises 13 country-specific consolidated appeals totaling $3.9 billion to address the urgent needs of 27 million people affected by crises in 29 countries.”
According to a U.N. press release, aid to African countries dominated the appeals with operations in Sudan requiring over $1.2 billion, the highest amount.
The appeal seeks funding for the following crises: Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), West Africa, Uganda, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Burundi, the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Central African Republic (CAR) and the Republic of Congo, as well as the occupied Palestinian territory.
Among those present at the “Kick-Off” in Geneva were the UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan; Toni Frisch, Assistant Director-General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and Head of the Humanitarian Aid Department; and Toby Porter, Emergencies Director for Save the Children-UK.
Elisa Burchett
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report
Please also see:
UN World Health Organization (WHO) http://www.who.int
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation http://www.sdc.admin.ch
Save the Children-UK http://www.savethechildren.org.uk