June 17, 2019
Opération Sourire: Celebrating 30 Years
In the Central African Republic there are 2.2 million people currently in need of humanitarian assistance.
CAR ranks 188 out of 189 on the United Nation’s Human Development Index
Since 2012, the population of CAR has been severely affected by ongoing political instability. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting and the levels of poverty have worsened in both towns and rural areas.
Doctors of the World began an emergency response in CAR in 2014. We continued our work by operating mobile clinics to provide access to healthcare for those displaced by the fighting. Our teams now provide support to existing health facilities in Malimaka, Gobongo, Bégoua, Lithonia, Gbango and Bouboui.
180,000
Consultations provided
6
Health centers supported
2,200
Survivors of GBV assisted
Since 2012, the population of CAR has been severely affected by ongoing political instability. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes to escape fighting and the levels of poverty have worsened in both towns and rural areas.
Access to healthcare has been severely disrupted by the instability, and the crisis has been compounded by CAR’s lack of infrastructure. CAR has also become a host for thousands of refugees from neighboring areas of conflict such as South Sudan which increase the burden on the country’s already overwhelmed health providers.
“Four Selekas saw us, my 13 year-old daughter and me. They raped us in front of my 0ther children.” – Judith, Survivor of GBV
Doctors of the World provides primary healthcare consultations, screens for malnutrition, and vaccinates children against disease. We also provide sexual and reproductive health support for pregnant women, assisting them throughout their pregnancy until delivery.
In addition, Doctors of the World has developed an innovative approach to working with survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in CAR. We provide survivors with medical care, mental health support and legal assistance within 6 different health facilities across the country. Since 2015, we’ve provided care to more than 2,200 survivors of GBV.