Global disruptions to transport routes caused by the conflict in the Middle East are increasing humanitarian costs and delaying life-saving aid for children around the world, a UNICEF official warned on Tuesday, Anadolu reports.

Jean-Cedric Meeus, the agency’s head of global transport and logistics, told reporters in Geneva that nearly 100 days after the latest regional escalation, the impact on global supply chains is extending far beyond the Middle East.

“Rising transportation costs mean less money for the supplies children need,” Meeus said, warning that the combined effects of rising logistics costs and a global funding crisis are forcing humanitarian agencies to make increasingly difficult decisions.

He said the maritime diversions around the Cape of Good Hope are adding two to four weeks to shipping times as air transport capacity is strained and port congestion spreads across Africa and beyond.

According to UNICEF, air transport costs for vaccines from India to Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo have risen by 50 to 70 percent, while trucking costs for food supplies from Kenya to Somalia, South Sudan and Congo have risen by 30 percent.

Shipping of educational materials from China to Yemen and Mozambique, he added, has also increased by 100 to 150 percent.

“Cumulatively, we estimate that these disruptions could delay critical supplies by up to four to six months,” Meeus said.

He warned that delays in distributing vaccines and food supplies could mean “the difference between life and death.” for children in crisis areas.

Despite the challenges, UNICEF is maintaining aid deliveries through alternative transport routes, expanding domestic production and partnerships with other UN agencies, he said, adding that humanitarian organizations cannot absorb the rising costs indefinitely.

Source: prizrenpost