Iran war threatening delivery of lifesaving supplies for children, UN says

Surging global transport costs and ongoing supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis are threatening the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid to children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday (June 2).

Nearly 100 days into the latest Middle East crisis, heightened insecurity along key Gulf shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, has driven up fuel prices and insurance premiums. At the same time, congestion at alternative ports has compounded delays, further hampering the movement of relief supplies.

“Increased transport costs mean less money for the lifesaving supplies children need,” said Jean-Cedric Meeus, UNICEF’s Chief of Global Transport and Logistics. He spoke during a press briefing in Geneva via video link from Mogadishu, where he outlined the significant operational challenges facing the agency.

UNICEF said its transport budget in Mali rose by 36% in the first quarter of this year, forcing difficult decisions between reducing shipments of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for malnourished children and scaling back other critical programs, including water and sanitation services.

The agency also reported that trucking costs for RUTF shipments from Kenyan manufacturers to Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have increased by 30%. In addition, UNICEF said it spent an extra $200,000 rerouting syringes for a polio vaccination campaign in Nigeria, reflecting a 56% rise in transport costs.

Due to shipping delays and port congestion linked to the crisis, UNICEF has increasingly relied on air freight. In the first quarter alone, the agency nearly exhausted its annual transport support from logistics partners, who provide donated charter flights, after airlifting supplies into Lebanon and Gaza amid delays of four to six weeks.

UNICEF estimates that some deliveries are now delayed by as much as six months. Rerouting shipments around the Cape of Good Hope has added an additional two to four weeks to transit times, Meeus said.

At the same briefing, the World Health Organization (World Health Organization) representative in Lebanon, Abdinassir Abubakar, said the country had experienced some of its deadliest months since the conflict escalated in October 2023. He noted that nearly 3,400 people have been killed and about 10,400 injured since an escalation on March 2, with most casualties being civilians.

Around 130,000 people have fled to shelters, and further displacement is expected following new evacuation orders in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Abubakar also said the WHO had verified nearly 190 attacks on health care facilities over the same period, resulting in the deaths of 128 medical workers and injuries to 332 others, including 11 attacks recorded in the past week alone. 

-Production: Cecile Mantovani/Reuters