In Central Africa the crisis is making people “invisible and without a future” three million minors
The alarm from the Unicef country representative Meritxell Relaño Arana: "Ten years of conflict put every single child at risk"
ROME – “Today, the three million girls and boys of the Central African Republic find themselves facing the highest recorded level of overlapping and interconnected crises and deprivations in the world The Central African Republic now holds the tragic distinction of being first among the 191 countries most at risk of humanitarian crises and disasters. This dire status highlights the serious and urgent challenges facing its citizens young people Ten years of prolonged conflict and instabilityin the Central African Republic have put every single child of the country’s three million at risk.” Thus warned theUnicef representative in the Central African Republic, Meritxell Relaño Arana, during today’s press conference at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, according to a note released by the organisation.
Relaño Arana continues: “There is a series of disheartening data on the lives of children in the Central African Republic; I will mention just four of them: first, 1 in 2 children does not have access to health services; second, only about a third ( 37%) of children regularly attend school; third, almost two out of three young women (61%) were married off before the age of 18; fourth, almost 40% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition”.
The representative maintains that “The weakness of institutions and the constant threat of violence aggravate the multiple risks for children’s rights. The fact that the crisis in the Central African Republic has continued for so many years – and that, unfortunately, many other global crises continue to unfold in parallel – means that the children of the Central African Republic have become painfully invisible. But their pain and loss are profoundly evident. However, there is hope a critical moment, indeed, it is the moment in which the international community must mobilize for a change of direction for the children of the Central African Republic”.
The UNICEF representative states that “The government’s new National Development Plan, together with other important commitments to improve children’s rights, indicate that UNICEF and its partners have a mechanism valid to push for a change of course: to chart a new future for children and for the country In this rare moment of opportunity, the greatest risk is that the representatives on whom these children rely -. international donors, global media and an informed public opinion – can turn their backs and look away in the face of simultaneous global crises”.
The manager reiterates: “In my clearest and most frank language : this will mean that many children will die unjustly; many others will see their future destroyed. A child is a child and, as such, it is imperative that the international community does not forget children of the Central African Republic”.