EU plans $5.5m relief assistance to CAR refugees

The European Commission will provide relief assistance to victims of the violence in the Central African Republic who have been forced to flee to Chad and Cameroon. The assistance, which is worth $5.5m in funding, comes from the Commission’s support of 45 million euros to CAR since the escalation of the crisis in December 2013. It will help the most vulnerable people seeking to meet their basic humanitarian needs, including shelter, food, health, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene. “Central Africans may have found some respite from the appalling violence in their country but, even so, their suffering continues in neighbouring countries. “There is currently little prospect of them being able to return home and they urgently need our help just to survive their ordeal,” said Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. The ongoing crisis in the CAR has already forced more than 188,000 people to take refuge in neighbouring countries. The CAR ranks among the world’s poorest countries and has been embroiled in a decade-long armed conflict. A team of European humanitarian experts are there monitoring the situation and working closely with partner organisations to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.