STP Overview: Central African Republic

STP Target Dates : June 11 to June 24, 2016

So many recurring themes in these Targets where Peace and Compassion can't seem to make inroads...

We will make inroads. We will SendThemPeace. Participate in The Challenge each day.

Overview : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_Republic and also

www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ct.html

Geography/ Climate : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_Central_African_Republic

Target Coordinates Used (Lat./ Long.) : 4° 22' 0" N, 18° 35' 0" E
4.366667, 18.583333 tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Central_African_Republic&params=4_22_N_18_35_E_type:city

History : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Central_African_Republic

Travel Guides : www.worldtravelguide.net/central-african-republic
Immunizations required : (Zika is endemic in the C-A-R). wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/mission_disaster/central-african-republic?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

People :

Demographics- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Central_African_Republic
Ethnic Groups : see this page for links : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_African_Republic

Global Peace Index Ranking : Central African Republic is ranked number 157 out of 163 countries ranked, placing it between Ukraine and Yemen.

Health : www.who.int/countries/caf/en/ and a statistical summary of health issues at apps.who.int/gho/data/node.country.country-CAF (not much data, but discouraging).
Avg. Life Expectancy 46.88 years. Infant Mortality Rate : 106 per 1000 live births.

GDP per capita (current US$) - (year: ) : 358.5 per capita

(Other countries for comparison) :

Burundi : 286/ cap in 2014
Central Afr.Rep.: 359/ cap 2014
Somalia : 543/ cap in 2014
Afghanistan: 634/ cap in 2014
Cambodia : 1,090/ cap in 2014
Myanmar : 1,203/ cap in 2014
Yemen : 1,408/ cap in 2013
Syria: 2,080/ cap in 2007
Bosnia&Hz 4,790/ cap in 2014
Israel: 37,206/ cap in 2014
Belgium : 47,517/ cap in 2014
U.S.A. : 54,629/ cap in 2014

Good Country Ranking (best = 1, Sweden; worst = 163, Libya) : C-A-R ranked 160.

Corruption : ranked 145 of 167 countries. Transparency. org 's corruption perceptions index is given here : www.transparency.org/country/#CAF One can get a sense of the extent of corruption globally, with this map : www.transparency.org/cpi2014/results#myAnchor1

Strengths/ Weaknesses : Literacy: 55.2% www.coface.com/Economic-Studies-and-Country-Risks/Central-African-Republic
The above includes a quite useful summary of the unstable political environment which continues in the Central African Republic.

Peace & Compassion Deficits :

Start with this short video to gain some perspective on this challenging situation :

Will latest elections lead to Peace? www.reuters.com/article/us-centralafrica-president-idUSKCN0WW1ZG

Sexual misconduct and exploitation : www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=53598#.V1s5g_l9500

Human Rights violations : www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54168#.V1s50_l9500

Situation of Children and Women in C.A.R. : www.unicef.org/sitan/files/SitAn_CAR_2010.pdf
"Although women are more successful (60%) in the informal sector and appear to improve their social status, in the formal private sector or the public sector their voice is barely heard in relation to their numbers involved at a national level."