Civil war has raged since 2013 in the poverty-wracked nation of almost five million people, displacing hundreds of thousands from their homes and sparking a major humanitarian crisis.
The president declared a unilateral ceasefire in October after gains against the rebels, but with insecurity persisting in the northwest of the country, many still struggle to feed themselves there.
“It’s linked to poverty and insecurity,” he says. “The conflict prevents residents from growing crops and it’s difficult to earn an income.”
At the health centre in Paoua, a town some 500km (300 miles) northwest of the capital Bangui, desperate mothers have brought their children to be examined.
Many hope for some pasta sachets provided by the United Nations’ food agency, the World Food Programme (WFP) said.
Among the crowd, a half-starved baby girl cries, but her malnourished mother’s breast milk is no longer enough to sate her.
A nurse measures the arm of 12-month-old Severine – just 1.5cm (0.6 inches) in diameter, and far too little for an infant her age.
Modeste Loyo Motayo, who heads the health centre in the town of 47,000 inhabitants, says hunger is the most common ailment among patients.
The WFP estimates 42 percent of Central Africans, on average, struggle to access enough food on a daily basis, a percentage it predicts will increase next year.
But, the food crisis is more acute in the northwest of the country bordering Chad, which is still the scene of regular clashes between rebels and government forces.
In the region of Ouham-Pende around Paoua, 61 percent of people are suffering a serious food crisis, the United Nations (UN) food agency’s Mahoua Coulibaly says.
These days, a handful of meagerly stocked stalls make up Paoua’s central market. Fruit and vegetables are scarce as insecurity disrupted supplies.
“Everything is becoming more expensive,” says Abas Mahamat, a member of Paoua’s transport trade union.
“How will the people get by?”
In December 2020, rebels launched a new offensive against President Faustin-Archange Touadera’s regime on the eve of presidential elections.
President Touadera won re-election and his army has now reconquered the lost territory – the United Nations and France say with key support from Russia’s Wagner private security group, allegations that Moscow denies.
But just last month, fighting in the country’s northwest killed about 30 civilians and two soldiers. -AFP
