African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are collaborating to ensure the return of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Central African Republic (CAR).

In a statement on AfDB’s website, the bank’s director of the Transition States Coordination Office, Yero Baldeh and UNHCR’s Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, led a team to visit CAR.

According to the statement, the representatives met with national authorities and development partners working with CAR to consolidate progress toward lasting peace and inclusive socio-economic recovery.

The AfDB’s director said the joint visit to Bria in CAR underlined the urgent need for strong collaboration among humanitarian and development partners.

“This aligns with AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina’s vision for advancing peace and development in fragile contexts, such as here in CAR. Hence, we aim to scale up and accelerate our support to the poorest and most vulnerable, especially displaced youth and women, returnees and host communities,” Mr Baldeh said.

According to him, the AfDB’s third Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa (2022-2026) emphasises conflict prevention and inclusive post-conflict reconstruction and development.

“This includes empowering forcibly displaced and host communities such as in the central Africa region and finding regional solutions. The bank’s active portfolio of over 450 million dollars in CAR includes agriculture, transport, governance and social sector projects to support the government’s development agenda,” Mr Baldeh explained.

The UNHCR assistant commissioner said the IDPs in Bria made their desire to return to their homes very clear as the security conditions continued to improve.

(NAN)