The health system in CAR is structurally fragile and underfunded, with one of the lowest doctor-to-person ratios in the world, and only half of its facilities are functional. Epidemics also pose a major challenge, compounded by low vaccination coverage. Access to healthcare in rural, remote areas is further hampered by chronic insecurity, impassable roads, and the high cost of transport to the nearest facility, which is often many kilometres away.
MSF plays a crucial role in delivering essential care in the country, in the capital, Bangui, and in remote regions of Bambari, Bangassou, Batangafo, Bossangoa, Bria, and Carnot.
Improving access to healthcare
We continue to run a broad range of medical services, supporting health facilities with emergency surgery, intensive care, paediatrics, neonatology, intensive nutrition, treatment for HIV, tuberculosis and chronic diseases, and sexual and reproductive healthcare. In 2025, our teams completed the construction of a 74-bed paediatric ward at Carnot hospital, which we run in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health.
Maternal, infant, and neonatal death rates in CAR remain among the highest globally, due to inadequate care during pregnancy and childbirth. We are responding by delivering free, high-quality services for mothers and children, such as antenatal consultations, caesarean sections, and incubation for newborns, in all our projects in the capital and in Bangassou, Batangafo, Bossangoa, Carnot, and Bria.
Malaria is a leading cause of sickness and death in CAR, particularly among children under five years old, and accounts for a large proportion of consultations in health facilities. MSF is working to improve access to diagnosis and treatment by operating ‘malaria points’ in communities, where trained community health workers are able to diagnose and treat the disease early.
Strengthening vaccination coverage
Low vaccination coverage in CAR triggers frequent disease outbreaks that directly threaten the lives of young children. In 2025, MSF scaled up support for routine vaccination programmes in all the health facilities where we worked, not only increasing the number of vaccinations administered, but also providing a constant supply of medical equipment and training Ministry of Health staff on vaccination. EURECA,* our mobile emergency response team, which conducts epidemiological surveillance across the country, assisted local health authorities with two measles vaccination campaigns in 2025.
*EURECA stands for ‘Équipe d'Urgence en République centrafricaine’
