Hundreds of thousands of people are without access to food or health care, ICRC president Peter Maurer said on Saturday after a recent visit to the conflict-ridden country.

The situation has been caused by ongoing clashes between a coalition of armed groups and government forces in several parts of the country.

Even before the current crisis, one in four of the country's roughly 5 million citizens was either displaced or a refugee in one of the neighbouring countries, according to the ICRC.

"We are worried that malnutrition will become even more severe because many families can no longer buy enough food or because what they can buy is not sufficiently nutritious," said Maurer.

In one town in the country's northeast alone, Kaga-Bandoro, the ICRC supported some 720 victims of sexual violence and held 1400 psychological consultations last year.

"These figures hint at a terrifying level of violence but they still do not reflect the scale of need," said Maurer.

The violence was seriously restricting the scope for carrying out humanitarian work and delivering aid, he added.

In addition, intimidation, threats and attacks have become "commonplace occurrences" for aid workers, the organisation said.

The oil-rich nation has been battered by conflict for almost eight years, with clashes between Muslim and Christian militia groups, as well as between rebels and government forces.

Australian Associated Press