The World Food Programme (WFP) says it urgently needs $68.4 million to meet the humanitarian needs of some 2.2 million people who are already acutely food insecure in the Central African Republic (CAR).

WFP spokesperson, Tomson Phiri, warned that a sharp increase in prices of essential goods in the country linked to war in Ukraine will likely have a devastating impact on the already dire humanitarian situation there in coming weeks.

A protracted internal armed conflict since 2012 that has killed thousands, driven mass displacement and left two out of three civilians dependent on humanitarian aid, amid fighting between the mostly Christian anti-Balaka militia and the mainly Muslim Séléka rebel coalition has worsened the situation.

According to Phiri, if funding is not secured urgently, basic food commodities and staples will soon be ‘out of the reach of many people’ in the CAR.

‘Without immediate funding, food and nutrition insecurity will only increase for millions of people. The figure may not shock you out of your seats, but when you look at the population size, that’s nearly half the population of the [CAR]’, UN News quoted Phiri as saying.

‘We expect a 30 percent increase in rice, a 67 percent increase for the price of wheat flour and a staggering 70 percent increase in the price of vegetable oil.

‘At the back of our minds as well, is the impact that fuel – which is out of reach – high transport costs, is having on our own operations.

‘Now, because we are struggling as well as an agency, what that means is that our teams on the ground are making last-ditch efforts to preposition food into deficit areas’.

Data from the WFP shows that around 79 percent of the country’s 4.7 million population are estimated to be living in poverty and almost three million people residing in the country require humanitarian assistance.

Photo source: WFP/Bruno Djoyo