The World Food Programme’s Afghanistan country director has said the cost of transporting food aid into the country has tripled, as global shipping disruption delays supplies for vulnerable children.

The Guardian reported that John Aylieff, the World Food Programme (WFP) country director in Afghanistan, said the agency is now facing significantly higher costs to bring food into the landlocked country.

Longer routes add weeks to delivery times

According to The Guardian, WFP supplies of “fortified biscuits” are being transported by road from Dubai through seven countries to Afghanistan. The report said the agency is avoiding its usual route through the Strait of Hormuz, adding three weeks to the journey.

Aylieff said the delays are already affecting children in Afghanistan.

“Afghan children today are going hungry as a result,” Aylieff told The Guardian, adding that many could die.

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Calls for humanitarian corridor

The report said aid organisations are calling for a humanitarian corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, as rising oil prices and shipping disruption slow the delivery of food, medicine and fuel to countries already facing humanitarian crises.

The Guardian said the disruption is linked to volatility in global oil prices following the U.S. and Israel’s conflict with Iran. It reported that oil prices rose from about $60 a barrel at the start of the year, peaking at nearly $120, while recently standing at around $111.

A WFP spokesperson told The Guardian that rising oil prices could prevent the agency from reaching around 1.5 million people worldwide in the coming months.

The newspaper also reported that WFP is attempting to reroute approximately 93,000 tonnes of food, including fortified biscuits and nutritional supplements, to communities in urgent need.

AnewZ contacted the Afghan government spokesperson for comment on the reported price increases but had not received a response by the time of publication.

So far, there has been no public reaction from the Afghan de facto authorities to The Guardian’s report. However, Kabul has previously acknowledged the country’s worsening food security crisis and earlier this year announced a UN- and Asian Development Bank-backed programme to support vulnerable Afghan families.

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Afghanistan WFP Afghanistan hunger crisis