USAID support keeps UN Humanitarian Air Service flying in Central African Republic
BANGUI –The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a contribution of US$ 6 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that will keep the WFP-managed UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flying in the Central African Republic (C.A.R.).
UNHAS offers a safe and reliable means for humanitarian workers to reach and help vulnerable people in remote areas of the war-torn C.A.R., where the absence of dependable commercial carriers and poor road infrastructure compounded by insecurity make it difficult to serve people in need.
“The contribution from USAID is a lifesaver for UNHAS whose current funding runs out in April” said Giancarlo Cirri, the Representative and Country Director of WFP in the Central African Republic. “Humanitarian needs are swelling in C.A.R. with every spike in violence. Affected people would be left stranded without a safe, effective and efficient means of transporting aid workers like UNHAS.”
The funds from USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) will allow UNHAS continue operations until September 2019, serving over 160 organisations, including UN agencies and non-governmental organisations, to fly to more than 30 destinations in the country to implement and monitor their interventions.
In 2018, UNHAS transported more than 21,694 passengers, some 190 mt of light cargo and conducted 193 security relocations as well as 26 medical evacuations in C.A.R.
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