WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) today announced $7 million in funding for the Central African Republic (CAR) Peacebuilding Partnership.

The public-private partnership will support and strengthen locally-led peacebuilding and atrocity prevention efforts in the Central African Republic over the next five years. The Partnership will ensure that donor support is sustained beyond the current crisis, and targeted at empowering inter-religious leaders, as well as women and youth, who are critical players in promoting peace and reconciliation in communities ravaged by violence.

"In the midst of unprecedented humanitarian challenges across the globe, we cannot and have not, lost sight of the urgent situation in the Central African Republic," underscored Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg. "The Peacebuilding Partnership is a vehicle for public and private donors to invest their resources around a common purpose of promoting a more resilient, peaceful and inclusive future in the Central African Republic."

The Partnership will restore livelihoods in communities impacted by violence, engage youth and women as agents of peaceful change, support inter-religious and other community-led conflict mitigation efforts, and promote civil society engagement in the national transition process. Pending Congressional approval, USAID will obligate $7 million to the Partnership and is seeking additional financial commitments from other donors to reach a total of $15 million.

The Partnership will build on current USAID programs in the Central African Republic, including $7.5 million in peacebuilding programs to empower local voices for peace, promote interreligious and other community dialogue, and improve access to accurate information in local media. The U.S. Government has provided more than $150 million in humanitarian aid to the people of CAR, making it the leading donor of humanitarian assistance to the crisis.