The cost of shipping part of the humanitarian aid to Sudan – the world’s biggest displacement crisis – has more than doubled due to war with Iran as the interruption of maritime transport increases costs and delays the delivery of aid, reported the UN agency for refugees this Friday (1st).
The growing insecurity surrounding the main gulf sea routesincluding the , as well as congestion at ports, rising fuel prices and rising insurance premiums, have hampered the delivery of aid, particularly in Africa, the agency said.
Ships with humanitarian aid that previously passed through Dubai are being replaced by ships coming from Europe, going around the Cape of Good Hope, which adds up to 25 days to the delivery time, according to a spokeswoman for UNHCR, Carlotta Wolfjournalists in Geneva.
“People in dire need are getting things ready later than necessary,” she said.
Shipping costs for shipping items Dubai humanitarian aid to Sudan and neighboring Chad more than doubled, from $927,000 to $1.87 million, Wolf said. caused by the war in Sudan as the largest in the world.
Greater dependence on land routes
Downtown Dubai is home to the largest global inventory of UNHCR humanitarian aid. It is one of seven stocks spread across the world, along with others in Copenhagen, Nairobi, Douala, Accra, Panama City and Termez.
In addition to interrupting the navigation in the Strait of Hormuz Since the U.S. and Israel launched war against Iran on Feb. 28, congestion at key ports including Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Mersin, Turkey, along with significantly higher war risk insurance premiums — estimated at between 0.5% and 1.5% of the cargo value for Gulf transits — are further adding to the pressure, Wolf said.
Growing reliance on land routes is also fueling truck shortages and increasing transportation costs, she added.
In Nairobi, in Kenyaprices, causing delays and reducing the availability of trucks for shipments to Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, the agency said.
The interruptions occur at a time when the UNHCR faces severe funding constraints following global donor cuts, with its $8.5 billion appeal to assist 135 million refugees and internally displaced people having received just 23% of the funding needed.
“Every extra dollar spent on transportation is one less dollar we can provide to the people who are being forced to go there, meaning fewer people we can support,” Wolf said.
Rising fuel prices and fertilizer shortages were driving up food costs, worsening the hardships of people in need.
