Geneva,May 2 (SANA) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned on Friday that the ongoing war in the Middle East has led to a sharp increase in global shipping costs, hindering the delivery of humanitarian assistance to refugees in the region and across Africa.
According to AFP ,UNHCR spokesperson Carlotta Wolf said shipping rates from India, Pakistan, and China have risen by about 18 percent, with port congestion and delivery delays adding to the strain.
Wolf said the crisis is affecting global humanitarian supply chains, noting that higher fuel and insurance costs reduce the funds available for field operations.
Transport companies’ ability to meet UNHCR requests has fallen from 97 percent to 77 percent, prompting the agency to reroute shipments through Jordan’s Aqaba port and rely more on overland trucking from Dubai.
Some shipments have more than doubled in cost, including deliveries to Sudan and Chad. Wolf said the impact is especially severe in Africa, where rising fuel prices have slowed deliveries to Ethiopia, the DRC, and South Sudan.
UNHCR needs $8.5 billion for its 2026 operations but has received only 23 percent of the required funding.
MHD
