A senior United Nations aid official heads to the Central African Republic (CAR) this weekend for a five-day visit to assess the humanitarian situation and spotlight the perilous situation faced by the impoverished country's civilians.

Catherine Bragg, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, is scheduled to arrive in the CAR capital, Bangui, on Sunday, and also travel to the towns of Birao, Kabo and Paoua.

Ms. Bragg will meet Central African Prime Minister Faustin-Archange Touadera and other senior Government officials, as well as the UN Country Team, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), diplomats, members of civil society groups and vulnerable people affected by displacement.

The CAR is one of the most impoverished countries in the world and remains beset by violence and widespread displacement in the north. A multidimensional UN peacekeeping mission, known as MINURCAT, has been deployed in northern CAR and eastern Chad.