Central African Republic

The conflict in Sudan has affected communities across the country, including South Darfur, which borders the remote northern Vakaga prefecture of the Central African Republic (CAR). As of April 2026, a total of 43,253 individuals have fled from Sudan into CAR, including 36,342 refugees and 6,911 refugee returnees. The Government of CAR (GoC) has kept its borders open to Sudanese refugees throughout the conflict. On 19 August 2023, the GoC granted prima facie refugee status to Sudanese nationals fleeing violence, enabling simplified group-based recognition of refugee status based on objective circumstances and the reasons for fleeing their country of origin.

The GoC has adopted an out-of-camp policy that includes establishing refugee settlements within existing towns and villages, as well as the effective inclusion of refugees in national systems, including health and education. Most refugees from Sudan are women and children, arriving with few belongings after enduring traumatic events in the country of origin as well as during flight. The majority cross through the Am-Dafock border and proceed to Birao, some 65 km away, where the Korsi (which means “welcome” in the local language) refugee settlement has been established.  Korsi is located in Vakaga prefecture, one of the country’s poorest and most underserved regions, characterized by remoteness, limited infrastructure and services, insecurity, and low population density.

Vakaga, one of the 20 prefectures of CAR, covers an area of 46,500 km² and has a population of 52,255 according to the 2003 census. Its capital, Birao, hosts 22,328 of the 36,342 Sudanese refugees registered in CAR. Korsi is a neighbourhood close to essential infrastructure, including schools, a hospital, and the base of the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR. 

Some 14,014 refugees are spread across other regions, in hard-to-reach locations where protection, registration and documentation are provided, while access to basic services remains constrained due to the complex security environment, logistical challenges and a lack of funding. These refugees and their hosts are among the neediest, requiring concerted efforts towards self-reliance and peaceful coexistence programs.

• Acute fragility: Over two million people remain acutely food insecure in the country. One in three Central Africans go to bed hungry, undermining human potential, economic growth, and social cohesion. In such a fragile context, even minor shocks can trigger major humanitarian impacts. Nowhere is this more evident than in Vakaga, home to Sudanese refugees, where isolation and insecurity amplify risks. Targeted investments to improve access, connectivity, food systems and social protection could transform Vakaga into a model of inclusive, area-based resilience.

• Logistics and physical access: Inaccessibility to displacement areas is one of the major challenges to sustainable responses in CAR today. Any successful development approaches in Vakaga require investments to disenclave the region by repairing access roads and making them useable during the six-month-long rainy season. Enhancing infrastructure in the region and connecting it to the capital, Bangui, would have ripple effects on the population and the country, significantly reducing operational costs for procuring and delivering supplies and services.

• Access to health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is alarmingly poor because of prolonged underinvestment, conflict, and climate change. As of 2020 (UNICEF/WHO Joint Monitoring Programme, 2020), only 37.2% of the population had access to basic water services, 14.1% to basic sanitation, and 21.5% to basic hygiene facilities. Open defecation remains widespread (25.1% of the population). WASH challenges are especially acute in Birao, Ouandja, and Ouandja-Djallé, contributing to high rates of child mortality and malnutrition.

   

• Lack of qualified human resources. The challenge in attracting qualified human resources to the Vakaga region presents a significant risk to both the quality and sustainability of provision of services to the population. Investing in housing and connectivity would help retain staff. The Vakaga region needs to attract a qualified workforce — including health personnel, teachers, social protection, and child protection workers, as well as regional managers and directors — capable of delivering quality services to the population.

According to UNHCR registration data, the proportion of skilled Sudanese refugee workers fleeing to the Central African Republic has increased significantly — by approximately 35% compared to the situation observed at the beginning of 2025 — due to the continuation of the armed conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023.

Similarly, the percentage of skilled workers in Birao increased slightly by 11% during the same period. This trend indicates a steady rise in the number of skilled workers among the refugee population, likely because this group has greater opportunities to find employment in the host country, the Central African Republic, or because they are more likely to leave Sudan during times of crisis.

Among refugees who provided education-related information during registration, trends indicate low levels of formal education, particularly among school-aged children and older adults, with more than 70% of individuals in both groups reporting no prior access to education. In contrast, the youth age cohort reported comparatively higher levels of participation in education in their country of origin.

Among school-aged children, 71% reported having no formal education, while 21% had attended basic education, including 20% at the primary level and 1% at the secondary level. An additional 8% had participated in non-formal education, such as Koranic schools. Among youth aged 18–35, 55% reported no education, 25% had attended basic education (13% primary and 12% secondary), and 3% had accessed higher education. A further 17% had participated in non-formal education. Among adults aged 36 and above, 70% reported having no education, while 19% had only informal education. Approximately 10% had attended basic education (6% primary and 4% secondary), and fewer than 2% had accessed higher education

CAR has one of the highest poverty rates in the world and faces its own significant development challenges, as well as conflict and displacement dynamics. Poverty stands at 68% nationally, with many IDPs in camps (World Bank 2023). 

While agriculture is by far the most common activity, households involved in agriculture face significant limits on productivity and more must be done to improve access to markets and inputs for the sector to be a stable basis for self-reliance. At the same time, access to basic infrastructure – including water and sanitation, schools, medical services, and roads – remains a significant challenge for most households.

The overarching goal is to advance the inclusion of refugees into national systems and strengthen autonomy. Although government presence in Vakaga prefecture remains limited outside the provincial capital of Birao, and the influx of refugees has placed additional pressure on already overstretched basic services, there are several opportunities to strengthen the continued inclusion of refugees into local systems, particularly in the sectors of health and education.

Local Governance and Community Resilience Project

Partner: The World Bank | Budget: USD 53 M

Sectors:. Strengthening central systems underpinning decentralization and enhancing local capacity for service delivery, and direct interventions at the community level to improve community resilience.

Location: North-East South & Central Duration: 5 years

Implementing entities: UCP-LONDO+MEPCI, Ministry of the Economy and Planning

Human Capital and Women and Girls` Empowerment Project (Maïngo Project)

Partner: The World Bank | Budget: USD 50 M

Sectors: Empower women and girls by improving their access to health, education, and skills services.

Location: Nana-Grébizi, Ouaka, Bamingui-Bangoran, Ouham, Vakaga and Bangui | Duration: 4 years

Implementing entities: Ministry of Economy and Planning, Ministry of Finance and Budget

Adaptive and Productive Social Safety Nets Project (Ndoye Project) 

Partner: The World Bank | Budget: USD 22 M

Sectors: Improve access to social safety nets for poor and vulnerable households and strengthen capacities to respond to shocks.  It plans to provide cash transfers to households, including 8,250 Sudanese and other refugee households and their host communities.  

Location: Ouka, Basse-Kotto, Haute-Kotto, Mbomou, Vakaga, Bamingui-Bangoran et Haut-Mbomou | Duration: 6 years

Implementing entities: Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Reconciliation

Strengthening Resilience and Social Cohesion in the Vakaga Prefecture through equitable Access to Essential Services for Refugees and Host Communities

Partner: UNICEF | Budget: USD 0.5 M

Sectors: Health, Nutrition, WASH, Child Protection

Location: Vakaga / Birao | Duration: 2 years

Implementing entities: UNICEF

Latest update: May 2026