As the Middle East war triggers a worldwide logistics disruption, supply chains delivering relief food and medicines to millions of vulnerable people are on the brink of paralysis.

According to AP on the 6th (local time), the war between the United States and Israel and Iran has effectively sealed off key maritime routes such as the Strait of Hormuz, and routes through logistics hubs including Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Doha in Qatar have also been severely affected, forcing aid groups to use costlier, slower detours.

Soaring fuel and insurance costs have sent transport expenses surging, sharply reducing the amount of aid that can be purchased and delivered on limited budgets.

The U.N. said this is the most severe global supply-chain disruption since COVID-19, with rerouted shipments increasing costs by up to 20% and causing delivery delays.

The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said shipments of food amounting to tens of thousands of tons are facing major delays.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) appealed that medicines worth $130,000 (195,000,000 KRW) bound for Sudan are stuck in Dubai, and 670 boxes of therapeutic food for severely malnourished children in Somalia are also stuck in India.

The U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) likewise reported delays in deliveries of medical equipment bound for 16 countries.

Madiha Raza, IRC deputy communications director for Africa, said, “The Iran war and the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz are pushing humanitarian relief operations beyond their limits,” adding, “Even if the war stops, aid delays could persist for months due to the shock to global supply chains.”

Some organizations are using routes that avoid the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal, adding weeks to delivery times. With multimodal combinations of land, sea, and air also being employed, costs are climbing further.

UNICEF has recently been combining overland and air transport to supply vaccines to Iran on time.

Before the war, suppliers worldwide shipped directly to Iran by air; now shipments go first to Turkiye and are moved overland, raising costs by 20% and extending delivery times by ten days.

Rising costs are also a heavy burden. Janti Soeripto, the U.S. head of Save the Children, said, “In the end, we will have no choice but to reduce the number of children we can support or the quantity of items we purchase.”

There are also concerns that the Iran war could become a catalyst for a global hunger crisis.

The WFP warned that if the conflict continues through June, an additional 45 million people could face acute hunger worldwide on top of the 320 million already struggling with hunger.