Central African Republic: Opening up communities most affected by conflict and revitalizing the economy

ACTED launched its intervention in the Central African Republic in December 2007 with a large roadway rehabilitation project.

Since 2007 many displaced persons have begun returning to their places of origin, but they must now struggle with new obstacles. Lack of maintenance has made roads leading to villages largely unusable, homes have been reduced to piles of ashes and many have no personal belongings by which to address their daily needs, including access to water, hygiene, health and education. In an effort to fight against poverty, encourage the consolidation of peace and support sustainable development in the country, ACTED has focused its intervention in CAR on two main axes, intrinsically linked: the reconstruction of socio-economic infrastructure, particularly in rural communities, including schools, health centers, roads and other transportation and communication infrastructure, and encouraging a return to self-sufficiency by strengthening local capacities and knowledge.

Based on its expertise in emergency reconstruction in both conflict and post-conflict situations, ACTED CAR works to improve the lives of vulnerable populations in the Nana-Gribizi region through the rehabilitation of the two main roadways of M’Biti-Kaga Bandoro and Kaga Bandoro-Ouandango. The rebuilt roadways will secure humanitarian access to the region and encourage economic development.

Rehabilitating roads in CAR has opened the door to numerous potential economic and social opportunities, and combined with the strong foundation of skills and experience it has helped build among the local population, ACTED plans to expand the breadth and reach of its interventions in the future with a specific focus on local development, through the strengthening of local capacities for development and economic revival.

Employing the greatest number in order to help revive the local economy

The employment of thousands of daily workers through the HIMO method, in the frame of projects of road rehabilitation in those regions most severely affected by the conflicts, helps inject significant amounts of cash into the local economy. Using a system of rotation cycles, the road workers are hired in successive teams according to the progress of the projects. This enables families to benefit from income support while contributing to the reduction of conflict by employing a maximum number of persons of all ethnic and religious affiliations, and including a minimum of 20% of women employed per team. The construction projects provide a short term response to the high levels of unemployment in the target area, while also helping to build a foundation of skills and experience among the population available for future maintenance and reconstruction.