Contact: Stephanie Bowen Communications Manager (310) 826.7800 sbowen@imcworldwide.org

Los Angeles, Calif. - International Medical Corps (IMC) found thousands in the Central African Republic to be at high risk of disease and malnutrition after fighting forced more than 13,500 to flee their homes. Children are the most at-risk, as IMC found 120 children who were orphaned or abandoned as a result of the recent conflict. Eighty-five percent of the displaced are predicted to be women and children.

The International Medical Corps team visited Bamingui-Bangoran, the most-affected province, and found the displaced living without proper shelter, safe drinking water, or adequate food supply, leaving them exposed to a variety of disease and other health issues. To help lower this risk, IMC is providing immunizations, water purification, and health and hygiene education to the displaced populations.

International Medical Corps found numerous communicable diseases to have already broken out, of which skin infections, diarrheal diseases, acute respiratory infections, and malaria are the most common. IMC has already recorded 123 cases of malaria and 256 cases of diarrheal disease. A chicken pox outbreak is also affecting the displaced with 318 registered cases.

"These health indicators are alarming, especially because there are no medical services available to the displaced," says Dr. Guy Yogo, International Medical Corps country director for the Central African Republic. "The five health centers in the region closed and all the Ministry of Health staff fled the area, leaving the closest health facility 75 miles away. Without access to health services, we could see a lot of deaths due to disease and severe malnutrition."

More than 6,000 of the displaced have fled to Daha, a town in Chad near the Central African border. Another 7,500 are estimated to be internally displaced and are living in the bush in small groups. The number of displaced is increasing daily and many are constantly on the move in the search for water, food, and safety. Reports site that at least 31 civilians were killed in the recent conflict.

The assessment comes after fighting broke out between government forces and the 'Convention Patriotic pour la Justice et la Paix' at the end of January. The renewed fighting is adds to a long history of unrest that has produced 11 attempted coups in the past decade alone. International Medical Corps works in both the Central African Republic and Chad, providing medical care and other health interventions for displaced and other vulnerable populations throughout the region.

Since its inception nearly 25 years ago, International Medical Corps' mission has been consistent: relieve the suffering of those impacted by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated populations to self-reliance. For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.