Life has rarely been easy for citizens of the Central African Republic, a sprawling landlocked nation that ranks near the bottom globally in almost every indicator of health and development. But the situation disintegrated further this year when a loosely organized rebel movement called Seleka seized control of the government from President Francois Bozize, triggering a mass exodus of refugees and leaving millions more hungry, sick, and destitute.
The UN estimates there are 1.6 million people in the country 颅颅鈥� population 4.6 million 鈥� in 鈥渄ire need鈥� of food, security, healthcare, sanitation, and shelter. Sixty thousand refugees have already fled the country and 200,000 more have been displaced within the CAR鈥檚 borders. As sporadic fighting continues, UNICEF estimates that some 3,500 children have been recruited to fight as soldiers for the rebels.
Kristalina Georgieva, the European Union鈥檚 commissioner for humanitarian aid, said this week that the CAR was 鈥渙ne of the most destitute places鈥� she had ever seen, and warned that 鈥淯nless the international community mobilizes fast, we may be seeing another Somalia in the making."
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