New York NY, March 20, 2026 —  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is warning that airspace closures across parts of the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz are beginning to severely affect global humanitarian supply chains, threatening the timely delivery of life saving assistance to crisis affected communities around the world. Rising fuel and energy prices are increasing operational costs for IRC’s humanitarian programming. 

Airspace closures across the Gulf and Iraq have forced the suspension or rerouting of many commercial and cargo flights which has resulted in the delay of staff movements and disruptions to critical nutrition, medical and emergency supplies. The closure of maritime routes is resulting in diversions and rerouting of cargo ships as well as the disruption of the flow of 20% of the world’s global oil exports. These diversions significantly extend shipping timelines, driving up freight costs and insurance premiums for vessels operating in the region. 

For humanitarian organizations like the IRC that rely on global procurement systems, the delays are already disrupting supply chains for essential relief items, including temperature-sensitive commodities used in health care, nutrition programs and vaccine delivery. As an example, approximately $130,000 worth of essential pharmaceutical supplies intended for IRC’s humanitarian response in Sudan are currently stranded in Dubai, delaying their delivery to communities in urgent need.

Elsewhere across IRC operations, teams are already being forced to rapidly reassess how they deliver aid in an increasingly uncertain and unstable environment. Program and proposal budgets are being reopened and revised to account for sharp increases in fuel, shipping and commodity costs, with the full scale of these price rises still unfolding. This volatility is creating a ripple effect across all areas of programming, raising concerns that resources may need to be stretched further or reprioritized, potentially impacting the scope and reach of humanitarian assistance.

IRC’s major shipping partners have indicated that vessels must now reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, adding up to a month to ocean freight deliveries destined for IRC operations in Africa. This is forcing difficult operational trade-offs, with teams weighing whether to absorb significantly higher costs by switching to air freight where it’s possible, or to adjust procurement timelines and program implementation plans to accommodate longer and less predictable delivery schedules. Together, these challenges are introducing a level of uncertainty that is making it increasingly difficult to plan, budget and deliver aid at the speed and scale required.

David Miliband, President and CEO of IRC, said,

“What we are seeing is the war in Iran unleashing a triple emergency. First, a surge in humanitarian need, with Lebanon now the most visible humanitarian scar and one of the fastest-growing displacement crises in the world, with over one million people forced from their homes in weeks. IRC teams are preparing for a major humanitarian response. Second, a global economic shock, as disruptions to food, fuel and fertilizer markets, putting up to 30 percent of fertilizer trade at risk—threaten more than 300 million people already facing acute food insecurity. As has been warned, this risks becoming a ‘slow-motion famine machine,’ with Gaza already seeing flour prices rise by 270 percent in a population staring famine in the face, and fragile countries from Somalia to Yemen at risk of shocks like those seen during COVID and the war in Ukraine.

"Third, a system under strain, with more than 60 conflicts stretching diplomatic attention and funding to breaking point, pushing crises like Sudan and Gaza further down the list of priorities. IRC’s Lebanon program was itself faced with funding cuts just as a major scale-up is needed. The result is an overstretched humanitarian system forced into impossible trade-offs- when $11.3 billion can be spent on war in days, while just $4 billion is enough to pay for treatment for every acutely malnourished child in the world. This is not a contained crisis. It has explosive consequences globally, and it is the world’s most vulnerable who risk paying the highest price.”

The IRC calls on governments and all actors to prioritize humanitarian access in all decisions affecting airspace and maritime routes, and to provide flexible, predictable funding that enables aid organizations to respond effectively to rising costs and supply chain disruption.

The IRC has also issued urgent recommendations to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid can reach those most affected by the escalating violence, including: