This Operation has been modified and extended in time until September 2010 as per Budget revision 06 (see below).

Since 2005, bloody confrontations between government Armed Forces and armed rebellion in the northern and northwestern provinces have led to the internal displacement of 212,000 people, most of whom live hidden in the bush to protect themselves from acts of violence and are the target of armed groups.

This persistent phenomenon has also contributed to the exodus of 98,000 people to the south of Chad, the Sudan and Cameroon.  Following events in Darfur, Haute Kotto Prefecture received 2,600 Sudanese refugees in 2007, who were settled in a camp at Sam Ouandja.

The results of the Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment showed that 22 percent of the rural population, 24 percent of households affected by HIV and 56 percent of refugees were food insecure. Severe acute malnutrition thresholds of 5.3 percent were observed in the Sam Ouandja refugee camp and 2.5 percent in the Vakaga Prefecture. The deterioration of the food, health and nutrition situation has exacerbated the vulnerability of affected population groups, contributing to increased rates of food insecurity, malnutrition, morbidity and mortality.

The proposed operation, based on the Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment, will give priority attention to food-insecure communities in conflict zones. It aims to save the lives of internally displaced persons affected by conflict in the Central African Republic and the sub-region; to contribute to the improvement of their food security and that of host communities; to strengthen human capital and rehabilitate assets through appropriate food assistance.

The proposed operation is in conformity with WFP's Strategic Objectives 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the Millennium Development Goals 1- 7, the WFP Enhanced Commitments to Women, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the Common Humanitarian Action Plan. The proposed activities will be implemented in partnership with the Government, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies and beneficiary communities.

WFP's hand-over strategy will consider the overall food and nutritional situation of the affected people and the capacity of the Government to manage relief and recovery activities, especially in the north; it will depend to a large extent on the improvement of security in the conflict zones and the progressive return to peace.

The Emergency Food Security and Nutrition Assessment, the Food Security Monitoring System and periodic assessment missions will provide data on the evolution of the overall food security situation. This information will make it possible to fine-tune targeting and determine the areas where agricultural production, food security and markets would justify a progressive hand-over of activities by WFP. The activities implemented under the PRRO will also emphasize the transition towards recovery and the building of local capacities as an integral part of the hand-over strategy.

Countries

Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR), a landlocked country of just four million people, has the most grim human development indicators in the region....