HI first worked in the Central African Republic from 1994 to 2004, running development programmes that included opening the Bangui orthopaedic centre and setting up the country's only university training course for physical therapy assistants. HI returned to CAR in 2016 to launch logistics platform projects that support and facilitate the delivery of aid by humanitarian organisations throughout the country. The programme is currently managing a logistics platform composed of a road and river component and an aerial component.
In September 2018, in partnership with MSF Holland, HI CAR introduced rehabilitation activities at Bambari General Hospital. This project is providing physical rehabilitation care, technical devices and psychosocial support to people with specific needs. In 2022, the programme opened an integrated rehabilitation service in Bangassou hospital similar to the one in Bambari.
Since 2022, HI CAR has been implementing stimulation therapy activities for children who have experienced an episode of acute to severe malnutrition. The aim of stimulation therapy is to prevent and reduce developmental delays and disabilities linked to malnutrition and to train parents to stimulate their child.
A Technical Cell for Inclusive Action (CTAI) was set up in Bangui in 2019 to improve the response of humanitarian actors to people with specific needs throughout the country. In 2022, the programme also launched a project to improve the living conditions of vulnerable people and people with disabilities.
In 2022, HI launched its first explosive ordnance risk education project in CAR, in the Ouham-Pendé region in the north east of the country. This project is being conducted in conjunction with a mental health and psychosocial support project for populations exposed to the risks of explosive devices or in situations of psychological distress.
