A UNICEF Success Story from Central African Republic

A child holds out a bar of soap in the hospital in Bossangoa, the town where a national immunization campaign is being launched. As part of the campaign, UNICEF is distributing soap. The word ‘UNICEF’ is imprinted on the bar.

For Sonia, 14, the new water pump close to her family's mud brick hut in the outskirts of Bouar, Central African Republic, is a real blessing. Before, she and her sisters had to climb down a steep hill to fetch water from a pond half a mile away. Sonia has nine sisters and brothers, so they had to get water several times a day to meet the needs of the large family.

"I finally have more time for my school work," says Sonia, "and we don’t have to worry anymore if the water we are drinking is safe; we know that it has been tested."

In Central African Republic, more than a third of the population does not have access to safe water, and almost 70 percent have no sanitation facilities. UNICEF is working with a range of partners, including the government and non-governmental organizations, to provide all Central African children with water and sanitation.