International Medical Corps has found alarming rates of malnutrition and a population in desperate need of assistance in the most remote and violent area of Central African Republic (CAR). “On our way to the northeastern town of Birao we had planned to visit five villages. All of them had been completely destroyed. People have fled into the bush. There are no schools and no health posts and the conflict continues,” says Dr. Guy Yogo, team leader of an International Medical Corps mission that has just returned from the area.
People in this part of CAR live in conditions way beyond emergency levels. Ongoing attacks on villages by several armed factions have depopulated whole areas. Up to 95 percent have fled their homes and are now living without shelter, clean water, medical assistance, and do not have sufficient food.
International Medical Corps is designing a response to the long-term crisis that has reached alarming levels. “There is a short window of opportunity. If we wait any longer people will not be able to plant before the rainy season starts and we will not be able to reach them. Any delay and we will see increased malnutrition and deaths,” says Abdon Chimalamungo, who headed the International Medical Corps nutritional assessment in CAR.
International Medical Corps will operate a series of mobile health units and offer nutritional support. The initial response will also provide emergency care for the injured and obstetric assistance for pregnant women. International Medical Corps is planning to rehabilitate schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure with the help of local communities so that people can return home. “If we act in time the impact can be huge. An improvement in the humanitarian situation could also reduce the inter-ethnic violence in the embattled region,” says Ben Hemingway, representing the mission from International Medical Corps’ offices in Washington, DC.
International Medical Corps is uniquely qualified to intervene in CAR. The organization has operated in neighboring Chad and Darfur for many years and is familiar with the logistical challenges, the environment and the parties to the conflict. Several armed factions are involved in the current power struggle. Some are based in Chad and Sudan, countries whose conflicts are closely linked to the problems in northern CAR. Violence often aims at civilians and is acted out along ethnic lines. While there are no reliable figures on deaths, at least 240,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.