The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa with a population estimated at 6.1 million, of whom 520 000 are displaced following years of instability. A Peace Agreement in February 2019 between the Government and 14 armed groups offers positive prospects for re-establishing state control and addressing the needs of the population.
Our partnership
CAR faces significant socio-economic, climate, and security challenges. In line with the Global Gateway strategy, the EU has been working to address the immediate needs of the population in CAR, while promoting sustainable, inclusive, and green development throughout its territory.
The EU and its Member States are longstanding and reliable partners of CAR. Under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe) the EU allocated €172 million in grant funding to its partnerships with CAR over 2021-2024, with a main focus on 1) Peace, Security, Justice, Governance, 2) Human Development, 3) Green Transition. CAR also benefits from a number of multi-country EU programmes (e.g., sustainable growth, NaturAfrica, oceans and governance, and regional integration).
Multiannual Indicative Programme 2021-2027 for Central African Republic - annex (French)
Special measure 2024 for the Central African Republic (French)
Addendum 2023 to the annual action plan 2021 for the Central African Republic (French)
Annual action plan 2023 for Central African Republic (French)
Addendum 2023 to the annual action programme 2020 Part 2 for the Central African Republic (French)
Annual action plan 2022 for Central African Republic (French)
Annual action plan 2021 for Central African Republic (French)
Programming documents 2014-2020 for the Central African Republic
Our flagship initiatives
- Social services
- Health: supporting 121 health facilities in seven health districts to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and improve access to high-quality maternal and childcare services. It also aims to:
- Reinforce the capacity building of the Ministry of Public Health for the implementation of performance-based financing and targeted free policies.
- Support drug management reforms such as the validation of a new legal and regulatory framework to enforce pharmaceutical legislation (including the creation of the multi-sectoral Coordination Committee for the fight against substandard and falsified medicines and other health products), or the adoption of the National Health Information System (SNIS) 2024-2028 strategic transformation plan with the aim of establishing a unified, structured, computerized and integrated health information system, capable of generating high-quality, accessible and timely data to support decision-making.
- Education: improving and strengthening the Central African education system, particularly in basic education, technical education, and vocational training (TVET) and higher education (mobility and digitalization), to improve access to quality education for 60 000 children. This will be achieved through the construction and rehabilitation of 450 classrooms and the training of 750 teachers across 9 provinces of CAR.
- Socio-economic empowerment of women and fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SVBG), including combating harmful practices such as early marriage and female genital mutilation. Since 2021, more than 50 000 women and girl survivors of SVBG have been able to access holistic care, including psychosocial support, emergency shelter, healthcare, and legal assistance, through funding of 63 Associations Villageoises d'Epargne et de Crédit supporting income-generating activities and functional literacy programs for women.
- Health: supporting 121 health facilities in seven health districts to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates and improve access to high-quality maternal and childcare services. It also aims to:
- Green transition
- Biodiversity protection: promoting the biodiversity protection in the Chinko, Dzanga-Sangha, and Northeast Protected Areas Complex through several components, including land use planning and elaboration of regional or territorial development plans, conservation and ecological monitoring, institutional support, community development, rural electrification, etc.
- Sustainable forest management:
- supporting the promotion of legal and sustainable logging practices in the country and a better structuring of the timber value chain.
- Improving the forest governance through support to civil society and the private sector. This aligns with the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the EU and CAR, which was signed in 2011 and ratified in 2012.