UN, EU humanitarian chiefs visit CAR

(Vatican Radio) TThe top humanitarian officials of the United Nations and the European Union on Friday expressed deep concern over the effects of ongoing instability across the Central African Republic (CAR). They called for increased access to people in urgent need of assistance. The United Nations’ Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, and the European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva, are on a two-day fact-finding mission in the CAR, where people are living without basic goods and services, often driven from their homes and forced to face the prospect of death by exposure, disease or starvation. Listen to our report:

Ahead of the trip, Georgieva described the extent of the crisis, which was precipitated in large part by a coup d’etat in March of this year.

“Out of 4.6 million population practically everybody is now affected by this conflict and the vast majority of people are in desperate need of help. And yet, help is very difficult to reach out to many-many people because of the fighting that erupts every so often and because of continuous looting, killing and rape of civilians.”

Speaking in the capital Bangui, Valerie Amos announced additional emergency funding of €8 million, which brings EU funding to €20 million this year, and called on the entire international community to increase aid commitments to the CAR.

During the course of their visit, Amos and Georgieva met with the Head of the transitional leadership, Michel Nondokro Djotodia, and members of the transitional government, urging authorities to safeguard humanitarian organisations' ability to conduct their work in the country.