Central African musician warns food insecurity at highest in August month

Speaking – and singing – at the UN in Geneva, Central African musician Ozaguin warned on Tuesday that 1.8 million Central Africans, or nearly half the population, do not know where their next meal is coming from.

The singer-songwriter told journalists how widespread hunger has left people vulnerable to exploitation by armed gangs, echoing a warning from the World Food Programme (WFP) that hundreds of thousands of people are too afraid of insecurity to access their land or hunt for food.

More than 465,000 of the worst off, live in areas where armed clashes still occur, despite the signing of a peace accord between the Government and more than a dozen opposition groups in February.

WFP currently feeds 600,000 people a month in CAR, but it has warned that needs are massive.

Together with Ozaguin, the UN agency is warning that August is typically the month in which food insecurity is at its highest in CAR.

To reach 800,000 people by the end of the year, it needs $35.5 million.