On Monday 28 May, FAO participated in  a Member States briefing on the humanitarian situation in the Central African Republic organized by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Rudolf Müller, Interim Functional Lead, Coordination Division, OCHA Geneva who was joined on the panel by His Excellency Ambassador Leopold Ismael Samba, Permanent Representative of the Central African Republic to the United Nations, Ms. Najat Rochdi, Humanitarian Coordinator for the Central African Republic, and a representative from the NGO Coordination Committee for the Central African Republic. The meeting was well attended by over 50 participants from Member States Diplomatic Missions, UN Agencies and International NGOs.

Ms Rochdi and the NGO Coordination Committee representative presented an overview of the situation, pointing out to a worsening of humanitarian conditions on the ground mostly due to growing insecurity. Both emphasized the impact on the population as well as humanitarian workers (the Central Africa Republic is currently the most dangerous country in the world for humanitarians, with 14 of them killed in 2017). Ms Rochdi commended the extraordinary courage and infinite resilience of the Central African people as well as the dedication of humanitarian workers. She also thanked donors for their support, as did Ambassador Samba, advocating for a sustained commitment and increased resources for humanitarian operations in the country.

Several Agencies and NGOs spoke during the meeting. FAO made a statement emphasizing food security and agriculture activities and needs and emphasized the importance of working on the whole humanitarian-development nexus to bring concrete results in food security and peace building for all Central Africans.