The Central African Republic (CAR) is one of the world’s poorest

countries.
It has been troubled by unrest for years, but since May 2017, fresh and fierce
clashes between armed groups have wrought increasing suffering, deaths and
destruction of property.
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Over 593,000
refugees from CAR

600,000
displaced inside CAR

Full statistics
Updated in 31 October 2019

“I lost everything: my home, my flesh, my identity.

My kids sleep on the floor.”
Zainaba, widowed mother of four displaced in Bangui
Back in December 2013, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee
their homes as violence spread in the Central African Republic (CAR), with
armed groups controlling parts of the country. Today, CAR continues to
experience sporadic surges of violence forcing over 593,000 CAR refugees to
remain in neighbouring Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and the Republic of the Congo, with smaller numbers in Sudan and
South Sudan. This is the highest number of CAR refugees seen since the start of
the crisis. In addition to the refugees, close to 600,000 people have been forced
to flee inside the country. 
CAR had been experiencing a gradual transition towards peace and stability
since late 2016, when both refugees and internally displaced people started to go
back home. Now, insecurity is plaguing areas in the centre, northwest, east and
south-east of CAR – some not previously affected by violence.
Thousands of people walk for weeks and hide in the forests in a desperate bid to
escape, sometimes with nothing to eat or drink. Those who arrive at sites for the
displaced have witnessed traumatic scenes of violence, and malnutrition rates
have risen to serious levels.
In what is one of the most poorly funded emergency situations globally, many
people lack even basic survival assistance. Food, health, shelter, and water and
sanitation are all primary concerns for refugees living outside formal sites and
for the communities hosting them.
What is UNHCR doing to help?
UNHCR is helping people affected by the violence and conflict. Inside CAR,
UNHCR’s focus remains on life-saving protection and assistance, distributing
basic relief items to the newly displaced and new community shelters are being
set up in response to the growing number of IDPs. In neighbouring countries,
UNHCR and its partners continue to respond to new arrivals while building
refugee’s livelihoods and ability to sustain themselves.  

Fresh waves of unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have

displaced an estimated 5 million people between 2017 and 2019 – namely in
the Kasai, Tanganyika, Ituri and Kivu regions. . Hundreds of thousands more
have fled to Angola, Zambia and other neighbouring countries.
People are fleeing their homes at a worrying pace, as worsening violence
destroys lives and livelihoods across the country.
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Almost 880,000
DRC refugees and asylum-seekers being hosted in African countries (as of 30
November 2019)

5.01 million
people displaced inside DRC (between Oct. 2017 and Sept. 2019)

Almost 524,000
refugees and 2,264 asylum-seekers in the DRC (as of 30 November 2019)

Updated January 2020

 
VIDEO

DR Congo: Thousands flee escalating violence in Kasaï

province

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a complex

and challenging humanitarian situation, with multiple
conflicts affecting several parts of its vast territory.
Hopes soared after a long and costly civil war was brought to an end in 2003,
but the nation has instead seen sporadic waves of fighting – especially in the
Eastern parts of the country. Since 2016, a new wave of violence also affected
the DRC’s Kasai region, a vast area in the south and center of the country.
Now, thousands of civilians are struggling for survival.
Although many people have returned to areas in the Kasai region and elsewhere,
they have often found their property, businesses and schools in ruins, and family
members killed. Human rights violations are still widespread, including physical
mutilation, killings, sexual violence, arbitrary arrest and detention in inhumane
conditions.
“Armed men killed my wife and three of our
children. I don’t know why.”
   Kadima Kabenge, mine worker who fled attacks in Kasai Province
While these conflicts have forced many Congolese to flee their homes, the
country also hosts over half a million refugees from neighbouring countries. It
continues to see new arrivals from Burundi, the Central African Republic and
South Sudan.
The risk of further displacement is high, as conflicts affect many areas.
Protection needs, particularly for the most vulnerable, are enormous, and the
challenges of getting aid to those in need are increasing. Strengthening public
health, sanitation and water supplies to prevent diseases remains vital.
What is UNHCR doing to help?
UNHCR is assisting people displaced inside the DRC through activities aimed
at strengthening the protection of vulnerable people, including women and
children.
It also provide shelter materials and cash grants to the most vulnerable among
the displaced and returnees. We strengthen community-based organisations that
work for peaceful coexistence, while working towards solutions to
displacement.
UNHCR is working with the International Organization for Migration to lead
the coordination and management of sites hosting internally displaced people
(IDPs) in North Kivu and Tanganyika provinces.
We also provide protection and assistance to Congolese refugees in
neighbouring countries, in collaboration with authorities and partners, including
those forced to flee during the most recent surge of violence.
Refugees, mainly women and children, from countries like the Central African
Republic, South Sudan and Burundi, who have sought refuge in the DRC, also
receive life-saving support and international protection through UNHCR and its
partners, notably the National Refugee Commission, UNHCR’s Government
partner. Most of these refugees settle in local Congolese communities and many
can become self-reliant with some support. UNHCR is actively seeking durable
solutions for these refugees, by developing strategic partnerships with other UN
agencies, as well as by looking to reduce environmental impacts, notably
deforestation, in refugee-hosting areas.
Despite the enormous needs, UNHCR has only received 67% of the US$156
million required in 2019 to provide life-saving assistance and protection to
refugees, IDPs and other vulnerable people in the DRC. More support is
urgently needed. Please help now.
Reports and Links
 Operational data portal
 DRC operational update (August 2018)
 DRC Fact Sheet (August 2018)
 Congolese situation data portal
 Congolese situation update (August 2018)

The Boko Haram insurgency has displaced nearly 2.4 million people in the
Lake Chad Basin.
Although the Nigerian military has regained control in parts of the country’s
north-east, civilians in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger continue to be
affected by grave violations of human rights, widespread sexual and gender-
based violence, forced recruitment and suicide bombings.
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244,000
Nigerian refugees

Over 2 million
internally displaced in Nigeria

Over 550,000
internally displaced in Cameroon, Chad and Niger

More statistics
Updated 31 October 2019

VIDEO

Fleeing Boko Haram: ‘Every day we pray for protection and

peace’

“Every day we pray for protection and peace.”

Boussam Abdulahi, Nigerian refugee
In 2019, the Nigerian refugee crisis will be going into its sixth year. Since
violent attacks of the Islamist group Boko Haram started to spill over Nigeria’s
north-eastern frontier in 2014, Cameroon, Chad and Niger have been drawn into
what has become a devastating regional conflict.
To date, the Lake Chad Basin region is grappling with a complex humanitarian
emergency. Over 3.3 million people have been displaced, including over
2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in north-eastern Nigeria, over
550,000 IDPs in Cameroon, Chad and Niger and 240,000 refugees in the four
countries.
The crisis has been exacerbated by conflict-induced food insecurity and severe
malnutrition, which have risen to critical levels in all four countries. Despite the
efforts of Governments and humanitarian aid in 2019, some 3.5 million people
remain food insecure in the Lake Chad Basin region and will depend on
assistance.
The challenges of protecting the displaced are compounded by the deteriorating
security situation as well as socio-economic fragility, with communities in the
Sahel region facing chronic poverty, a harsh climatic conditions, recurrent
epidemics, poor infrastructure and limited access to basic services.
The Nigerian military, together with the Multinational Joint Task Force,
have driven extremists from many of the areas they once controlled, but these
gains have been overshadowed by an increase of Boko Haram attacks in
neighbouring countries. Despite the return of Nigerian IDPs and refugees to
accessible areas, the crisis remains acute.
What is UNHCR doing to help?
UNHCR has scaled up its response and is working with the authorities in north-
eastern Nigeria, as well as with UN partners, national and international NGOs,
the forcibly displaced and affected populations. These joint efforts are geared
towards assisting displaced persons, as well as returning refugees and IDPs to
regain their dignity and a sense of normal life. UNHCR is providing protection-
by-presence in the field through strategic protection monitoring, vulnerability
screening, provision of material assistance and subsequent individual protection
referrals to service providers
UNHCR’s work also includes efforts to ensure that the rights of persons of
concern are respected. This work is among other things, geared towards
preventing and responding to Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV)
through the provision of legal and psycho-social support to survivors of SGBV.
Such efforts also encompass the provision of shelter and basic household items
as well as safeguarding legal rights by providing documentation and legal aid.
The agency is also advocating for increased access to social and basic services
for displaced persons, respect for the Civilian and Humanitarian character of
IDP camps and a better protection environment overall.
Supporting the government’s efforts towards the restoration of peace and
security to enable durable solutions is also part of UNHCR engagement in
Northeast Nigeria operation. This includes capacity building and training for
authorities, the military, partners and persons of concern on international and
national legal frameworks for the protection of IDPs and other persons of
concern. The Capacity building initiatives also cover international humanitarian
law and other relevant frameworks on human rights. This is taking place at both
the state and national levels.
Working jointly with other agencies, UNHCR also facilitates sessions on
protection against sexual exploitation and abuse for security agents and
humanitarian workers at the state capitals as well as at local level.
In neighboring Niger, Cameroon and Chad, UNHCR is working with the
authorities to improve the protection environment, ensure that refugees enjoy
the right to asylum and that they are not forced to return to Nigeria against their
will.
The agency is also coordinating the humanitarian assistance provided by 47 UN
agencies and NGO partners through the 2019 Regional Refugee Response Plan.

WHAT UNHCR DO?

 Advocacy helps to transform policies and services that affect
displaced and stateless people on a national, regional and global
level. It is a vital part of our work at UNHCR.
In both countries of asylum and countries of origin, we work within
national political, economic and social structures to bring policies,
practices and laws into compliance with international standards.
In times of forced displacement, we use advocacy to influence
governments, non-governmental partners and the public at large to adopt
practices that ensure the protection of those in need. 

 Most refugees live in environments where they have access to markets

and services in the same way that local communities do. Providing
refugees with cash enables them to fulfil their needs in a dignified
manner and contributes to the local economy.
UNHCR uses cash-based interventions to provide protection, assistance and
services to the most vulnerable. Cash and vouchers help the displaced meet a
variety of needs, including access to food, water, healthcare, shelter, that allow
them to build and support livelihoods, and to facilitate voluntary repatriation.
When people are forced to flee their homes, they leave with the bare essentials.
They also lose their ability to earn and spend in the process. Our cash-based
interventions (CBIs) seek to protect refugees by reducing the risks they face and
to maintain their capacity to spend. CBIs can be used in a variety of settings, as
long as there is a stable market and a safe way to provide refugees with cash or
vouchers. The flexibility that CBIs offer makes them a more dignified form of
assistance, giving refugees the ability to immediately prioritise and choose what
they need.

 See also:  Cash assistance gives refugees the power of choice

Cash-based interventions make the displaced less likely to resort to harmful
coping strategies, such as survival sex, child labour, family separation and
forced marriage. They also directly benefit the local economy and can
contribute to peaceful coexistence with host communities.
At UNHCR, we strive to make the best use of the latest available technologies,
such as cash delivery through ATMs, iris scans and the EyeCloud in Jordan. We
are also building ever-growing partnerships within the humanitarian community
and the private sector.

3.7 million refugee children are out of school.

The gains in educational enrolment revealed in this year’s UNHCR report on
refugees and education, small as they are in percentage terms, still represent
life-changing opportunities for tens of thousands of refugee children,
adolescents and youth.
Refugee enrolment in primary school is up from 61 to 63 per cent, while
secondary level enrolment has risen from 23 to 24 per cent. There has been a
rise in the numbers of refugees accessing higher education to from 1 to 3 per
cent.
Read the report  Support our work

Of the 19.9 million refugees under our care, 7.4 million are of school age. Their
access to education is limited, with 4 million unable to attend school.
The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants pinpoints education as a
critical element of the international refugee response. Furthermore, Sustainable
Development Goal 4 aims to deliver “inclusive and quality education for all and
to promote lifelong learning”.
UNHCR partners with governments and international organisations to ensure
quality protective education for refugee children and young people everywhere.
Together with your help, they can learn how to rebuild their lives.
Education is a basic human right, enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Education protects refugee children and youth from forced recruitment into
armed groups, child labour, sexual exploitation and child marriage. Education
also strengthens community resilience.
Education empowers by giving refugees the knowledge and skills to live
productive, fulfilling and independent lives.
Education enlightens refugees, enabling them to learn about themselves and
the world around them, while striving to rebuild their lives and communities.