A landlocked nation in Central Africa facing conflict, humanitarian need and geopolitical shifts
The Central African Republic has seen some signs of improvement as displacement slows and aid-funded activities resume. Yet funding for 2025 and 2026 remains critically short, raising the risk that gains will unravel. The UN and partners warn that continued shortfalls threaten life-saving relief for millions, with IDPs and refugees relying on fragile programmes to survive.
A set of new data shows a sharp drop in folic acid and iron supplies reaching crisis-affected and low-income countries, intensifying anaemia risks for pregnant women. Rising maternal deaths are linked to conflict, displacement, and shrinking humanitarian aid, while early results from US-supported cash programs offer guarded optimism.
The United States has expanded deportations of third‑country nationals under deals with multiple countries, including Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea. Rights groups warn of abuses as deportees face uncertain futures after removal from the U.S., with many lacking ties to the destination nations.
Bozizé is facing trial in Bangui in absentia for crimes by his security forces tied to Bossembele abuses; three former officers are in pre-trial detention. The Special Criminal Court is pursuing allegations of murder, torture and rape linked to the presidential guard and other security forces.
Rwandan and Congolese officials remain locked in a dispute over commitments under a Washington-brokered peace deal, with UN experts noting M23 remains active and minerals continue to flow from conflict zones. Western governments have stepped up sanctions, and the ICJ case against Rwanda has widened the international response.
Eswatini is temporarily housing a fourth group of third-country nationals deported from the United States, with rights protected during their stay. Officials say this follows a series of secretive agreements tied to U.S. immigration actions, and the migrants are to be held at Matsapha Prison while their status is assessed.
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Bundibugyo-ebola outbreak has intensified. More than 2,973 confirmed cases and 1,309 deaths have been reported. Health workers are on strike over two months of unpaid bonuses, disrupting care at Elikya Ebola Treatment Centre in Bunia and complicating the response as cases rise and insecurity persists.