The ongoing conflict is significantly impacting the ability of aid organizations to deliver food and medicine to millions of people globally. Disruptions to shipping routes, rising costs, and new emergencies are exacerbating humanitarian crises and threatening to worsen food insecurity worldwide.

Impact on Humanitarian Supply Chains

Humanitarian organizations are sounding the alarm that the conflict, centered in the Middle East, is severely hampering their ability to deliver vital supplies to vulnerable populations. The war’s impact on global supply chains, particularly shipping routes, and soaring costs threaten to worsen existing humanitarian crises and create new ones.

Key pathways for aid, such as the Strait of Hormuz, have become effectively inaccessible. Strategic hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi are also experiencing significant disruptions, pushing humanitarian operations to their breaking point.

Rising Costs and Rerouted Shipments

The conflict has triggered a global energy crisis, disrupting humanitarian supply chains and forcing organizations to adopt more expensive and time-consuming routes. Transport costs have surged due to higher fuel and insurance rates, reducing the volume of supplies deliverable with the same funding.

The World Food Program (WFP) reports tens of thousands of metric tons of food delayed in transit, while the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has critical pharmaceuticals and therapeutic food stranded. Agencies are rerouting shipments, bypassing critical waterways like the Strait of Hormuz and Suez Canal, adding weeks to delivery times.

For example, UNICEF is now using a combination of air and land routes to deliver vaccines to countries like Nigeria and Iran, increasing delivery times and costs. Save the Children International is trucking goods through Saudi Arabia and then by barge across the Red Sea, adding extra days to delivery times.

Widespread Consequences and Urgent Warnings

These delays put millions at risk, including the 90 primary health care facilities in Sudan that are at risk of running out of medicines. Rising fuel prices exacerbate food insecurity and limit access to healthcare in countries like Somalia and Nigeria, impacting clinics’ ability to power essential equipment.

The WFP warns that if the conflict persists through June, the number of acutely hungry people worldwide could increase dramatically. The disruption of fertilizer supplies threatens the livelihoods of small farmers in areas like East Africa and South Asia, exacerbating food insecurity.

Aid groups emphasize the urgency of the situation, noting that rising prices force organizations to make difficult choices, potentially reducing the number of people served or the quantity of essential supplies provided. The shock to global supply chains could continue to delay lifesaving aid for months, even after the fighting stops, underscoring the long-term impact of the war on humanitarian efforts. The war is creating new emergencies, such as in Iran, and impacting at least one million people in Lebanon.