Surging global transport costs and supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis are threatening the delivery of lifesaving aid to children, the UN children’s agency has warned.
Nearly 100 days after the outbreak of the Iran war, heightened insecurity around key Gulf shipping routes has driven up fuel prices and insurance premiums, while congestion at alternative ports has compounded disruptions, hampering aid deliveries.
UN children’s agency UNICEF said on Tuesday that it was increasingly relying on air freight due to shipping delays.
In the first quarter alone, the agency nearly exhausted annual contributions from logistics partners that donate charter flights, as it flew supplies into Lebanon and Gaza amid delays of up to four to six weeks. That is unprecedented, UNICEF’s Chief of Global Transport and Logistics, Jean-Cedric Meeus, told reporters.
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