The conflict has not only severed key shipping routes and triggered a global energy crisis but also disrupted the supply chains of humanitarian organizations, forcing them to use more expensive and time-consuming routes.
Critical passages like the Strait of Hormuz are effectively closed, and routes from strategic hubs such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi have also been affected. Transportation costs have surged due to higher fuel and insurance prices, meaning less aid can be delivered for the same amount of money.
The World Food Programme (WFP) reports having tens of thousands of metric tons of food that are difficult to keep in transit. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has $130,000 worth of pharmaceutical products intended for war-torn Sudan stuck in Dubai, along with nearly 670 boxes of therapeutic food for severely malnourished children in Somalia blocked in India. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says it is delayed in sending equipment to 16 countries.
Earlier drastic cuts in U.S. development and humanitarian aid had already weakened the work of many organizations, which now warn that the war is further deepening this problem.
The United Nations states that this is the most significant supply chain disruption since the COVID-19 pandemic, with transportation costs rising by up to 20% and delays due to rerouting of goods. The war is simultaneously creating new humanitarian crises, such as in Iran and Lebanon, where at least one million people have been displaced.
"The war against Iran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten to push humanitarian operations beyond their limits," said Madiha Raza, deputy director of public affairs and communications for Africa at the International Rescue Committee.
Even when the fighting stops, the shock to global supply chains could delay life-saving aid deliveries for months, she added.
The war has forced organizations to seek new ways to transport goods, with some bypassing the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal and rerouting ships around Africa, extending delivery times by weeks.
Others are using hybrid transport models, combining land, sea, and air routes, which further increases costs.
Jean-Cedric Meeus, head of global transport and logistics at UNICEF, says the agency is now using a combination of land and air routes to send vaccines to Nigeria and Iran in time for planned immunization campaigns, but costs have risen sharply.
Before the war, UNICEF sent vaccines to Iran directly by air from suppliers worldwide. Now, they first send them by air to Turkey and then transport them by truck to Iran, increasing costs by 20% and extending delivery by an additional 10 days, Meeus noted.
Save the Children International, which previously shipped supplies from Dubai to Port Sudan, will now have to transport goods by truck from Dubai through Saudi Arabia and then by barge across the Red Sea, the organization announced. Such a route adds about 10 days to delivery and increases costs by approximately 25%, at a time when more than 19 million people in Sudan are facing acute food insecurity. Delays put more than 90 primary health facilities across Sudan at risk of running out of essential medicines, they stated.
The price surge also means organizations must make difficult choices about what to prioritize.
"In the end, you sacrifice either the number of children you can help... or the number of items you can afford to buy," said Janti Soeripto, president of the U.S. branch of Save the Children. The organization notes that it has supplies in the countries where it operates, but some could be depleted within weeks.
Rising costs also affect people's ability to seek help within their own countries.
Doctors Without Borders reported that rising fuel prices across Somalia—where about 6.5 million people suffer from acute food insecurity—have increased transportation and food costs, making it even harder for people to access healthcare. In Nigeria, the IRC notes that fuel prices have jumped by 50%, and clinics are struggling to power critical equipment like generators, while mobile medical teams have had to reduce their operations.
One of the biggest concerns is the war's impact on global hunger levels.
The WFP warns that if the conflict continues until June, an additional 45 million people could become acutely hungry, joining nearly 320 million people already facing hunger worldwide.
About 30% of the world's fertilizer shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and with the upcoming planting season in regions like East Africa and South Asia, small farmers in poor countries could be particularly hard hit. Sudan imports more than half of its fertilizer from Gulf countries, and Kenya about 40%, humanitarian organizations report.
The UN Secretary-General has established a working group to facilitate fertilizer trade, modeled on the Black Sea Grain Initiative. However, humanitarian organizations warn that this will not be enough. If there is no ceasefire, they say, governments will have to allocate far more resources so organizations can respond to rising costs.
Humanitarian experts also point out that the international response in funding aid during this war is slower compared to previous conflicts like the one in Ukraine, which may reflect growing pressure to invest in security rather than humanitarian aid during global turmoil.
"Governments are making tough choices between investing in defense and security and investing in humanitarian aid," said Sam Vigersky, a fellow in international relations at the Council on Foreign Relations who has written about the war's impact on humanitarian aid.
He noted that the United States, when entering a war, usually has mechanisms in place to provide aid but has not "activated" them now. "It's not a question of capacity but a political decision," he said.
Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department, said the U.S. has been "the most generous country in the world" when it comes to humanitarian aid.
The State Department announced that an additional $50 million in emergency aid for Lebanon has been approved, including funds for the World Food Programme, and that it is working closely with the UN and other partners to address humanitarian needs.