ROME, March 27. /TASS/. The number of hungry people in the world could increase by 45 million due to disruptions in supply chains and changes in transport routes resulting from the war in Iran and the Middle East conflict more broadly, the Director of Supply Chains for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Corinne Fleischer, has stated.
She explained that due to risks and increased insurance costs for passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where the organization’s vessels had humanitarian priority, routes must be adjusted. "This situation <...> does not affect one country or one region, it affects supply chains globally," she said in a message posted on the organization’s page on social media X.
Fleischer cited as an example the delivery of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, where 16 million people are in need. She explained that the route through Pakistan is not feasible due to the conflict with Afghanistan, and the Suez Canal is also unsafe; ultimately, it is necessary to circumnavigate the entire African continent to deliver goods via Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan.
"What we are very concerned about, beyond the immediate effect of supply chain disruptions, is that the increased cost of living and the lack of fertilizer will drive another 45 million people in this world into acute hunger," she concluded.