Surging global transport costs and supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East crisis are threatening the delivery of lifesaving aid to children, the UN children’s agency (Unicef) warns, according to Reuters.

Nearly 100 days after the outbreak of the Iran war, heightened insecurity around key Gulf shipping routes has driven up fuel prices and insurance premiums, while congestion at alternative ports has compounded disruptions, hampering aid deliveries.

Unicef says it is increasingly relying on air freight due to shipping delays, with the agency nearly exhausting annual contributions from logistics partners in the first quarter alone, as it flew supplies into Lebanon and Gaza amid delays of up to four to six weeks.

“That is unprecedented,” Unicef’s Chief of Global Transport and Logistics, Jean-Cedric Meeus, tells reporters.