FAO/WFP markets and food security assessment mission to the Central African Republic, 7 April 2014

Abstract

Civil insecurity has been a serious and consistent threat to the political stability and economic development of the Central African Republic (CAR) since its independence in 1960. The economic performance of CAR has often been subpar, despite vast endowments of arable lands, dense forests, gold and diamonds, largely due to the political instability caused by poor governance, successive coups and presence of foreign militants, especially in the northeast. In 2012, CAR ranked 180 out o f 187 countries on the Human Development Index. CAR is experiencing an unprecedented crisis in terms of both magnitude and intensity following the destabilization of the former regime in December 2012 and subsequent takeover by the rebel Séléka coalition in March 2013. The country has moved from a protracted crisis, characterized by chronic underdevelopment and localized emergency situations to an acute and complex emergency affecting almost the entire population. In Decemb er 2013, an unprecedented surge in violence and chaos in the capital Bangui1 and several provinces around the country, mainly in Ouham and Ouham Pende in the North-West, exacerbated this situation. Today, CAR is on the brink of total economic and social collapse resulting in severe national and potentially regional repercussions.