Executive summary
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)'s Africa Zone (Zone) covers 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and is divided into six functional/geographical regions namely the Central Africa (Yaoundé), Sahel (Dakar), Indian Ocean Islands (Mauritius), West Coast (Abuja), East Africa (Nairobi), and Southern Africa (Johannesburg). Based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, the IFRC's Central Africa Regional Representation (CARREP) covers the following six countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), the Republic of Congo (RoC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. Whilst reporting directly to the Africa Zone office, the Central Africa region receives zone level services and technical support upon request from the operational hub in Sahel office.
CARREP National Societies (NS)' priorities for 2011 are guided by the IFRC Strategy 2020. The 17th session of the General Assembly of the IFRC, held in November 2009 in Kenya, adopted Strategy 2020, which is built upon new strategic thinking and designed to better prepare Red Cross and Red Crescent NS to effectively address the humanitarian challenges of the coming decade. The IFRC regional representation priorities are hence guided by the strategic aims of Strategy 2020 to support the development and work of NS, whilst supporting the NS obligation as outlined in the 7th Pan African Johannesburg Commitments and the African Red Cross and Red Crescent Health Initiative (ARCHI) 2010.
CARREP provides the financial and technical support required to enable the six NS covered by this plan to improve the quality and efficiency of their humanitarian, social and community-based services in favour of vulnerable people and other people exposed to all sorts of hazards. This is in response to the many years' impact of epidemics, endemic diseases, natural and man-made disasters. In addition conflicts have often led to significant population displacements or created situations of vulnerability, which affected underprivileged communities incapable of selfsustenance (women, children, old persons and rural communities in general). Recently, the increasingly high cost of living has added a further burden to Central African populations. T he illegal immigration phenomenon has intensified in over the past years due to the rapid deterioration of living conditions. In fact, people chased away by conflicts and disasters, especially from the Central African Republic, the DRC and Chad, are forced to mo v e , and this has intensified population movements within the region, the main destinations being Cameroon, Gabon, and in some cases Equatorial Guinea. Moreover, many are those people who even go as far as embarking on a journey to Europe or USA where they hope to get a better life. This situation has continued to dismember entire families in an alarming way, and to reduce local manpower, thereby increasing the risks of various crises.
