The Middle East crisis has generated far-reaching ripple effects well beyond the region, with growing consequences for global humanitarian supply chains and the delivery of aid, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson warned on Friday.
Heightened insecurity and instability around key Gulf routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, have disrupted maritime traffic. Rising fuel, food and freight costs worldwide are driving up prices and delaying the delivery of critical supplies, Carlotta Wolf said at a regular press briefing.
These rising costs "disproportionately affect people who are already living in emergencies, including millions of refugees and displaced people who are among the hardest hit, while also reducing the ability of aid agencies to deliver timely assistance", she said.
The closure of key maritime routes has forced greater use of longer and more expensive alternatives, leading to increased transit times and operational complexity. Freight rates from key sourcing countries have risen by nearly 18 percent since the start of hostilities, while the capacity of UNHCR's global transport providers has dropped from 97 to 77 percent since the start of this year, Wolf said.
"For some shipments, costs have more than doubled, such as transport costs for relief items from UNHCR global stockpiles in Dubai to our Sudan and Chad operations," she said.
The UNHCR spokesperson expressed particular concern about the situation in Africa, home to many overlapping and "often tragically neglected" displacement crises.
In Kenya, where one of UNHCR's global stockpiles is located, a recent fuel price increase of around 15 percent triggered delays and reduced truck availability for shipments to Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. In Sudan, the cost of delivering aid has doubled in recent months, while rerouting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope adds up to 25 days in delivery times.
"The increase of fuel prices in Nairobi has affected specifically the availability of trucks for containers of emergency supplies that we were ready to send to three main operations that are there, you know, Ethiopia, the DRC, Congo and South Sudan. So, meaning that people in dire need are receiving things already later than what's needed," Wolf said.
Restrictions on free passage of fertilizer through the Strait of Hormuz are also driving food prices up, and inflation is on the rise, meaning that people who are already struggling to survive in emergency contexts are able to afford even less basic goods, said the UNHCR spokesperson.
"Increasing food prices, for example, prices of very basic goods on the ground are also, because of inflation and because of the fertilizer issues, are also rising, meaning that people who are already in fragile contexts, in emergencies are able to buy less of their basic needs," she said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions into poverty, worsen global hunger and have prolonged negative effects on the global economy.
UN refugee agency warns Mideast crisis hampering aid efforts
