The Middle East crisis is putting aid, food, fuel increasingly beyond the reach of millions of struggling people – UN agencies

Rising insecurity and instability around key Gulf routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, is raising prices of basic goods and delaying deliveries of vital supplies, the UN refugee agency said (UNHCR) spokesperson Carlotta Wolf notified journalists in Geneva.

“Increasing costs of transportation, food and fuel disproportionately impacting people already living in a state of emergency, including millions of refugees and displaced people “They are the most affected, while reducing the ability of aid agencies to provide timely assistance,” he said.

Aid supplies were diverted

UNHCR was forced to adapt to this situation by changing sea cargo routes and relying increasingly on alternative land corridorsMs. Wolf explained, causing longer transportation times and incurring additional costs.

Transport rates from countries of origin for aid goods have increased by almost 18 percent since the start of the crisis, while UNHCR’s global transport provider capacity has fallen from 97 to 77 percent since the start of 2026.

“For some deliveries, the cost more than doublessuch as the cost of transporting relief goods from UNHCR’s global stockpile in Dubai to our operations in Sudan and Chad,” Ms. Wolf said.

A UNHCR spokesperson expressed particular concern about the situation in Africa, which is home to many “often tragically overlooked” and overlapping refugee crises.

In Kenya, where one of UNHCR’s global warehouses is located, rising fuel prices have affected the availability of trucks for emergency supply containers destined for major aid operations in Ethiopia, Congo and South Sudan.

Delivery late

This means that “people who really need it are receiving help later than needed,” Ms. Wolf.

He further emphasized that UNHCR’s operations globally are funded at only 23 percent of the total requirement of $8.5 billion.

“Every additional dollar spent on transportation is one dollar less we can give to displaced people…The impact on the communities we serve is already visible,” he said.

Restrictions on free fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz also pushed up food prices, and increased inflation, meaning that communities already struggling to survive in an emergency context were able to afford even fewer basic necessities, stressed the UNHCR spokesperson.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday warned that the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could push tens of millions of people into poverty, worsen global hunger and have a lasting negative impact on the global economy.

Fuel shortages are strangling people

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHRSpokesperson ) Jeremy Laurence underscored the immediate and devastating impact on human rights of this situation, and in particular the fuel shortage.

“A small farmer in Africa or Asia or Latin America cannot operate his machinery on his small plot of land” that serves to support his large family, he said. Generators that run on diesel fuel can no longer be used, while school buses can’t operate and children don’t get an education.

“This always impacts the most vulnerable groups first,” he concluded.