Humanitarian organizations have sounded the alarm that the war in the Middle East has severely compromised their ability to deliver food and medicine to millions of people in need around the world.
Not only has the conflict cut off vital sea routes, causing a global energy crisis, but it has also disrupted the supply chains of humanitarian organizations, forcing them to take more expensive and longer routes.
Closed communication routes such as the Strait of Hormuz have been virtually shut down, and routes from strategic hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi have also been affected.
Transportation costs have skyrocketed due to rising fuel prices and insurance premiums, meaning fewer supplies can be delivered within the same budget.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has indicated that tens of thousands of tons of food supplies are heavily delayed in their delivery.
The International Rescue Committee has $130,000 worth of pharmaceutical products destined for war-torn Sudan blocked in Dubai, and nearly 670 cartons of therapeutic foods for severely malnourished children in Somalia are stuck in India.
The United Nations Population Fund has delayed sending materials to 16 countries.
The significant cuts in foreign aid from the United States had already put many humanitarian organizations in a difficult position, and they claim that the war is exacerbating the problem.
The United Nations stated that this is the most significant disruption to the supply chain since COVID, with transportation costs increasing by up to 20% and delays due to the rerouting of goods.
And the war is creating new emergency situations, like in Iran, but also in Lebanon where at least a million people have been displaced.
“The war against Iran and the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz risk pushing humanitarian operations beyond their limits,” emphasized Madiha Raza, Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Africa at the International Rescue Committee.
Even when the fighting stops, the shock to global supply chains could continue to delay vital aid for months, she added.
Longer and More Expensive Routes
The war has forced organizations to find new ways to transport goods, with some bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal by diverting ships around Africa, adding several weeks to the delivery time.
Others are using a combination of transportation modes, including land, sea, and air, which increases costs.
Jean-Cedric Meeus, Global Head of Transport and Logistics at UNICEF, explained that his agency was using a combination of land and air routes to send vaccines to Nigeria and Iran to deliver them in time for vaccination campaigns, but costs had soared.
Before the war, UNICEF shipped vaccines to Iran by plane directly from suppliers around the world. Now, the organization routes the vaccines by air to Turkey, then by road to Iran, increasing costs by 20% and extending delivery time by 10 days, he said.
Save the Children International, which usually shipped supplies by sea freight from Dubai to Port Sudan, will now have to transport goods by truck from Dubai through Saudi Arabia, then by barge across the Red Sea, it said.
This route adds 10 days and increases costs by about 25%, at a time when more than 19 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity.
This delay exposes over 90 primary health care facilities in Sudan to the risk of running out of essential medicines, according to the organization.
The price surge is also forcing organizations to prioritize.
“Ultimately, either we sacrifice the number of children we help, or we sacrifice the number of items we can afford to buy,” noted Janti Soeripto, President of Save the Children US.
The organization said it had stocks in the countries where it operates, but some of them could be depleted within a few weeks.
The rising costs also affect the ability of populations to receive care in their own countries.
Doctors Without Borders indicated that the fuel price increase in Somalia — where about 6.5 million people face acute food insecurity — has driven up transportation and food costs, making access to care more challenging.
The Food Crisis Could Worsen
One of the main concerns is the impact of the war on world hunger.
WFP warns that if the conflict continues until June, an additional 45 million people will suffer from acute hunger, adding to the more than 320 million people facing hunger worldwide.
Approximately 30% of global fertilizers pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and as the planting season approaches in regions like East Africa and South Asia, small farmers in poor countries will be severely affected.
The Sudan imports more than half of its fertilizers from the Gulf, and Kenya about 40%, according to humanitarian organizations.
The UN Secretary-General has set up a task force to facilitate fertilizer trade, but humanitarian organizations say this will not be enough.
If there is no ceasefire, governments must provide more funds to organizations to cope with the rising costs, they assert.
Humanitarian experts emphasize that international response to fund aid has been slower during this war than in previous conflicts, such as in Ukraine, reflecting a growing pressure for investment in security rather than aid at a time when the world is in turmoil.
“They are making tough choices between defense security and humanitarian aid,” highlighted Sam Vigersky, researcher in international affairs at the Council on Foreign Relations, who has written about the impact of the war on humanitarian aid.
He explained that when the US goes to war, they generally have provisions for aid, but they have not “activated” them.
“It’s not a matter of capacity, it’s a political decision,” he added.
Tommy Pigott, Deputy Spokesperson at the US State Department, stated that the United States was the “most generous country in the world” when it came to humanitarian aid.
