Expertise France in the Central African Republic

A priority country for Expertise France

CAR is one of Expertise France’s main countries of operation in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the agency conducts over half of its technical cooperation activity.

The agency is working actively alongside the Central African authorities and is today operating in the priority areas of economic and financial governance, stabilisation and security, health, and vocational training.

Commitment to sustainable development

Through innovative projects, Expertise France mobilises a wide range of complementary expertise to contribute to social and territorial cohesion, the transparency and accountability of public action, and to improving the future prospects for the Central African population, in Bangui, but also in the Berberati and Bria regions.

Expertise France has deployed about ten long-term experts in the country.

Close partnership with Central African institutions

The technical cooperation projects led by Expertise France reconcile swift action and a long-term commitment to the key partners of Central African development.

Expertise France works alongside various ministries (economy, finance, national education, higher education and research, health, sustainable development, etc.) and the Municipality of Bangui.

Expertise France’s projects in the Central African Republic

Project to open up regions in CAR

This project, which is financed by the Bêkou Fund with a contribution from the French State, aims to help open up certain regions and localities where there are strategic roads by rehabilitating transport infrastructure, especially bridges. Indeed, transport infrastructure in CAR is unevenly distributed across the country and is often inadequate or in poor condition. This is a major handicap for the smooth flow of domestic and foreign trade and affects the country’s development.

By facilitating travel in the Central African Republic, the aim of strengthening transport infrastructure is to promote:

• Economic development by improving the movement of goods and people,

• The strengthening of security and social cohesion in the country,

• The redeployment of government officials and basic public services,

• The revitalisation of the local economic fabric and employment

Recovery & Stabilisation in CAR

Through the pilot project for the Redeployment of decentralised services, strengthening of social cohesion and early recovery in the Central African Republic, Expertise France took an innovative multisectoral approach to improve the resilience of public services in the country. This project was financed by the European Union’s Bêkou Fund and supported the redeployment of local authorities, the strengthening of consultation, justice and the local media, and socioeconomic recovery in the pilot regions of Berberati and Bria. The project ended in 2019.

Songo project: providing access to healthcare to isolated communities in the Central African Republic

2019-2021 / € 1,95m (Crisis and Support Center of the French Ministry for Europe and International Affairs)

In the health sector, Expertise France is responsible for the implementation of Songo, a pilot project for health caravans in the east of the Central African Republic. Songo aims at facilitating access to quality healthcare for the most vulnerable populations in the health districts of Bamingui-Bangoran, Vakaga and Haute-Kotto. Its two objectives are to:

• Provide a free, quality healthcare service for the most vulnerable populations via a pilot mobile system;

• Strengthen the capacities of community and health actors to intervene among the most vulnerable populations.

CAR is also one of the countries eligible for L'Initiative, a project supporting beneficiary countries in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of funding allocated by the Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
 

For further reading: Expertise France and the fight against pandemics

Treasury – Budget – Information Systems (TBIS) project

The TBIS project is part of the reforms undertaken by the Central African State to consolidate public finances. It aims to assist the key actors in public finances with the State’s cycle of sound financial management. Support will be given for the preparation and execution of the budget, as well as for the consolidation of public accounting.

In the sector of economic and financial governance, Expertise France set up PURSeP, a project closed in January 2018. The agency deployed experts to the services of the Ministry of Finance and Budget and the Ministry of Civil Service in order to support the public finance reform, optimise human resources management and improve expenditure control by developing tax and customs revenues.

In the context of the ZINGO programme, Expertise France also supported capacity building for five public administrations for the identification, appraisal and monitoring of development projects.

Find out more: Expertise France worldwide