The cost of sending some aid to Sudan — the world’s largest displacement crisis — has more than doubled due to the Iran war, as shipping disruption pushes up costs and delays the delivery of relief, the UN refugee agency has said.
Heightened insecurity around key Gulf shipping routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, as well as congestion at ports, rising fuel prices and higher insurance premiums have all hampered the delivery of aid, particularly in Africa, the agency said on Friday.
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Ships with aid that previously passed from Dubai through the Strait of Hormuz are being replaced by ships coming from Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, adding up to 25 days to delivery times, UNHCR spokesperson Carlotta Wolf told reporters in Geneva.
“People in dire need are receiving things that are ready later than what’s needed,” she said.
Transport costs for moving shipments of relief items from Dubai to Sudan and to neighbouring Chad have more than doubled, rising from $927,000 to $1.87 million, Wolf said. The UN routinely refers to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Sudan as the world’s largest.
Increased reliance on overland routes
The Dubai hub hosts UNHCR’s biggest global stockpile of relief items. It is one of seven stockpiles around the world, with others in Copenhagen, Nairobi, Douala, Accra, Panama City and Termez.
