Humanitarian groups said the conflict has forced them to reroute shipments through longer and more expensive pathways, with transport costs rising sharply due to increased fuel prices and insurance premiums.

The disruption has compounded existing financial strain following reductions in U.S. foreign aid.The World Food Programme said tens of thousands of metric tons of food are currently delayed in transit.

The International Rescue Committee reported that pharmaceuticals intended for Sudan are stranded in Dubai, while hundreds of boxes of therapeutic food meant for malnourished children in Somalia remain stuck in India.

The United Nations Population Fund said it has also delayed shipments of medical equipment to 16 countries, underscoring the scale of the disruption.The United Nations described the situation as the most significant supply chain shock since the COVID-19 pandemic, with costs increasing by up to 20% as shipments are rerouted and delayed.

Aid agencies are increasingly relying on a combination of land, air and sea transport to bypass affected routes. UNICEF said it has shifted vaccine deliveries to Iran via Turkiye by air and road, adding about 10 days to delivery times and increasing costs by roughly 20%.

Save the Children said it has altered supply routes to Sudan, including overland transport through Saudi Arabia and barge crossings of the Red Sea, increasing delivery times by about 10 days and costs by approximately 25%.

The delays risk disrupting supplies to more than 90 primary health care facilities in Sudan.The Doctors Without Borders said rising fuel prices in Somalia have increased transport and food costs, limiting access to care for populations already facing severe food insecurity.Aid groups warned that the impact on global hunger could worsen significantly.

The World Food Programme said that if the conflict continues through June, an additional 45 million people could face acute hunger, adding to nearly 320 million already affected worldwide.The disruption also threatens agricultural production, with around 30% of global fertilizer supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Countries such as Sudan and Kenya rely heavily on imports from the Gulf, raising concerns about planting seasons in regions including East Africa and South Asia.

The United Nations said it has established a task force to facilitate fertilizer trade, but aid agencies cautioned that without a ceasefire and increased funding, humanitarian operations may struggle to meet rising needs.

The United States said it remains a leading contributor to global humanitarian assistance and announced an additional $50 million in emergency aid to Lebanon, including support for the World Food Programme, as it works with international partners to address the growing crisis.

Zuwaira Hanafi stood outside a healthcare facility in Kaita, in Nigeria’s northern Katsina state, as medical staff hurried into a ward where her eight-month-old daughter lay semiconscious, underscoring the urgency confronting health workers in a region grappling with rising levels of severe malnutrition.

At the entrance, clinicians used colour-coded measuring tapes to assess the mid-upper arm circumference of children, a standard method for diagnosing malnutrition.

A steady flow of mothers, including teenagers, arrived with infants in critical condition, reflecting what humanitarian agencies describe as a deepening hunger crisis affecting large parts of the country.The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has warned that as many as 33 million Nigerians could face severe hunger in 2026, a record level.

Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates that approximately 6.4 million children in Nigeria are expected to be acutely malnourished by the end of the year, with the burden concentrated in northern regions such as Katsina.

Dr Soma Bahonan, head of the Nigeria mission for the Alliance for International Medical Action (Alima), which operates the Kaita facility in partnership with local authorities, said the crisis is expanding beyond children. Increasing numbers of mothers are also presenting with acute malnutrition, compounding the risks to infant health and survival.

Alima has expanded its operations to include mobile clinics designed to reach remote populations unable to travel to fixed facilities. These services include transport support for critical cases from surrounding communities.

However, Bahonan described the scale of need as exceeding operational capacity, particularly in Katsina, which has become a focal point of what aid workers describe as an intergenerational hunger crisis.Longstanding drivers of food insecurity, including climate variability and structural governance challenges, have been intensified by rising insecurity.

Attacks by jihadist groups and other non-state actors have disrupted farming activities and restricted access to agricultural land, further weakening household food production and income stability.The strain on the healthcare system is evident in workforce shortages. Nigeria’s doctor-to-patient ratio is estimated at roughly 1:9,000, significantly below the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 1:600.

Medical professionals continue to leave the country, citing delayed salary payments and limited career prospects, further reducing service capacity in already underserved areas.While digital health startups and private-sector partnerships have made progress in urban centres such as Lagos and Abuja, their reach remains limited in rural and conflict-affected regions due to infrastructure deficits and high inflation.

This uneven distribution of innovation has widened disparities in healthcare access.Analysts describe Nigeria’s current situation as a convergence of multiple crises. Joachim MacEbong, a senior analyst at Control Risks in Lagos, said the country faces overlapping economic, security, and human development challenges that reinforce one another.

He noted that these interconnected pressures are contributing to deteriorating health outcomes and weakening institutional response capacity.Humanitarian organisations have begun planning for the annual lean season, typically spanning June to September, when food stocks decline and malnutrition rates tend to rise.

The period is expected to place additional stress on already constrained health and nutrition services.Policy interventions have been introduced, though their impact remains uncertain.

In 2025, the Nigerian government partnered with the World Bank to implement the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria project, aimed at delivering basic nutrition services to vulnerable households.

A second phase of the programme is currently under way, but experts say broader structural reforms are required to improve food affordability and strengthen social protection systems.Supply chain inefficiencies continue to limit access to essential medicines and equipment.

Peter Bunor Jr, co-founder and head of growth at Field Intelligence, a health technology company focused on pharmaceutical logistics in Africa, said disruptions in global and domestic supply chains are contributing to shortages at the point of care.

Patients often travel long distances only to find that prescribed drugs are unavailable or replaced with alternatives, frequently at higher cost.Bunor said the impact of these shortages is amplified during a hunger crisis, as malnourished individuals are more susceptible to infections and require timely medical intervention.

He emphasised the need for better data integration and forecasting to prevent stockouts.In 2018, Field Intelligence launched the Nigeria Health Logistics Management Information System, a platform designed to track pharmaceutical supply data across public health programmes.

The system, now managed by the federal health ministry, has been expanded with support from UNICEF, and stakeholders are encouraging wider adoption among health agencies to improve coordination and anticipate shortages.Funding constraints remain a central concern.

Nigeria allocated approximately 5.2% of its 47.9 trillion naira national budget to the health sector, well below the 15% target set under the Abuja Declaration by African Union member states. Per capita health spending remains among the lowest on the continent.

In February, Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate disclosed that of the 218 billion naira allocated for operations and capital projects under the ministry, only 36 million naira had been released. The figure, representing a small fraction of the approved budget, has raised concerns about implementation capacity and fiscal prioritisation.

MacEbong said the funding gap illustrates broader structural challenges in public finance management, noting that limited budget execution undermines service delivery even where allocations exist. He added that the scale of the crisis requires sustained government attention, particularly in sectors directly linked to human capital development.

Aid organisations continue to call for increased domestic investment in health and nutrition, alongside improved coordination with international partners.

As conditions in northern Nigeria worsen, frontline health workers face mounting pressure to manage a growing caseload with limited resources, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in one of Africa’s largest economies.

Mental health specialists and humanitarian organisations say the latest escalation, following the 2024 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, is compounding years of trauma linked to economic collapse, displacement and the 2020 Beirut port explosion.

More than 1,120 people have been killed, 3,235 wounded and around 1.3 million displaced in less than a month, according to available data, with United Nations estimates indicating roughly one-fifth of the population has been forced from their homes.

Civilians fleeing Israeli airstrikes and evacuation warnings have often left without belongings, seeking refuge in overcrowded areas including Beirut, where conditions remain strained.

Aid agencies warn that repeated displacement is reopening psychological wounds, particularly among those already affected by previous crises.Dr. George Karam, a Beirut-based psychiatrist, said that between 2020 and 2023, 63% of Lebanese experienced mental health problems, and that the current conflict is worsening these conditions “to a dangerous degree.”

He said demand for psychological support has risen sharply as people struggle with fear, exhaustion and uncertainty.The International Rescue Committee said that even before the latest escalation, nearly half the population screened positive for conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ongoing exposure to violence is now driving increased cases of severe anxiety, sleep disruption and emotional distress, it added.Lebanon’s National Mental Health Programme has expanded services, including hotlines and public guidance, but demand is rapidly outpacing capacity.

Calls to crisis hotlines doubled in the first 10 days of the escalation, with 55% of callers reporting acute distress and 30% expressing suicidal thoughts, according to programme data.

Mobile crisis teams have been deployed across Beirut and other regions to provide urgent care for those unable to access health facilities. However, insecurity and infrastructure damage are limiting access just as needs surge, aid groups said.

Children, women and displaced populations are bearing disproportionate impacts. UNICEF estimates more than 370,000 children have been displaced in three weeks, while UN Women reports that about a quarter of women and girls have been forced to flee, increasing risks of income loss, disrupted healthcare and gender-based violence.

The UN refugee agency has warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” as overcrowding, instability and limited services deepen vulnerabilities across communities.

Aid officials say the psychological toll is now visible across all segments of society, including among those with no prior history of mental health conditions. “People are living under constant threat, with no clear sense of safety,” said Magda Rossmann, the International Rescue Committee’s country director in Lebanon.

Lebanese health officials warn that without sustained international funding and an end to hostilities, the mental health impact of the crisis could become a long-term public health emergency, with effects lasting for years beyond the conflict.

The war, which escalated on March 2, has led to the closure of more than 350 public schools, while others in areas affected by Israeli bombardment remain shut, leaving students to rely on improvised and often inadequate remote learning arrangements.

In Beirut, displaced families are living inside school buildings where classrooms have been partitioned into makeshift living spaces. Students like 17-year-old Ahmad Melhem are attempting to continue their education using recorded lessons on shared devices, often without reliable internet access.

Melhem, displaced from the capital’s southern suburbs, said he returned home briefly to retrieve schoolbooks despite the risks. “We’re trying with everything we have to continue our education,” he said, adding that he hopes to pursue engineering studies.

Many schools have resumed limited online teaching, but shortened schedules and reduced subject offerings have affected the quality of education. Students say they struggle to concentrate in crowded shelters or noisy shared spaces.

Access to education has been further constrained by limited connectivity and resources. In some shelters, internet access is only available outdoors, forcing students to study in unsuitable environments or rely on recorded lessons.

According to UNICEF, disparities in digital access between regions and households have created a “big digital divide,” affecting both students and teachers. Some families share a single mobile device among several children, while others lack even basic supplies.

UNICEF has introduced an online platform with recorded lessons and a phone-based system to help students access materials without internet, but officials warn these measures cannot fully replace in-person schooling.

The conflict has killed more than 1,100 people in Lebanon, including 122 children, and displaced over one million, according to authorities. Education experts warn that prolonged disruption increases the risk of permanent dropouts, particularly among girls and adolescents vulnerable to early marriage.

The World Bank estimated in a 2023 report that each day of public school closure costs Lebanon’s economy around $3 million, highlighting the broader impact of the crisis.

Children in southern Lebanon have faced repeated disruptions since hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel reignited in October 2023, compounding existing challenges in the country’s education system.

At temporary shelters, families continue to prioritize schooling despite the conditions. “Education is the only thing left for my children,” said one displaced parent, reflecting widespread concern over a lost generation.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told the U.N. Security Council that more than 5,300 Palestinian children had reportedly been killed since Oct. 7 – when Palestinian militants of Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking hostages, most of them civilians.

Israel has focused its retaliation against Hamas in Gaza, a territory of 2.3 million people.

“The true cost of this latest war in Palestine and Israel will be measured in children’s lives – those lost to the violence and those forever changed by it. Without an end to the fighting and full humanitarian access, the cost will continue to grow exponentially,” Russell, who last week visited Gaza, said at a council briefing on women and children there.

Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and invaded with soldiers and tanks.

“The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” Russell said. “In Gaza, the effects of the violence perpetrated on children have been catastrophic, indiscriminate and disproportionate.”

Israel agreed on Wednesday to a ceasefire with Hamas for four days to let in humanitarian aid and free at least 50 hostages held by militants in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians jailed in Israel.

“Women in Gaza have told us that they pray for peace, but that if peace does not come, they pray for a quick death, in their sleep, with their children in their arms. It should shame us all that any mother, anywhere, has such a prayer,” U.N. Women Executive Director Sima Bahous told the 15-member council.

Israel Accuses Hamas Of Exploiting Children

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan accused Hamas of exploiting children in Gaza for years and repeated long-held criticisms that the United Nations is biased against Israel.

“Make no mistake as soon as the pause ends, we will continue striving towards our goals with full force,” he said. “We will not stop until we eliminate all of Hamas’ terror capabilities and ensure that they can no longer rule Gaza and threaten both Israeli civilians and the women and children of Gaza.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the ceasefire agreement as “an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to end the suffering.”

There are 5,500 pregnant women expected to give birth in Gaza in the coming month, the head of the U.N Population Fund (UNFPA), the world body’s sexual and reproductive health agency, told the Security Council.

“Every day approximately 180 women deliver under appalling conditions, the future for their newborns uncertain,” said Executive-Director Natalia Kanem, adding that UNFPA was also worried about some 7,000 women who gave birth over the past 47 days and lack access to care, water, sanitation and nutrition.

“While en route to Rafah, we believe the car hit or tried to avert a big pothole that made the car go over a deep ditch and flip on the side,” said UNICEF head of media Kurtis Cooper, adding that Russell “experienced significant bruising, and is in quite a bit of discomfort, but her injuries are not considered serious.”

He said Russell continued her visit to Gaza and then doctors determined she required further care, so she postponed the rest of her visit to the region, which included Israel, where she had hoped to meet with families of abducted children.

The Kingdom’s general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, and the executive director of UNICEF, Catherine Russell, signed a joint agreement during the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The agreement, aimed at bolstering strategic partnerships, humanitarian aid provision, and knowledge exchange, underscores the commitment of both parties to prioritize the welfare of children. The signing ceremony was reported by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Al-Rabeeah emphasized Saudi Arabia’s dedication to reaching vulnerable children and their families through UNICEF projects. The Kingdom recognizes the importance of supporting initiatives that address the needs of disadvantaged children and aims to play an active role in UNICEF’s endeavors.

Expressing gratitude for the partnership, Russell acknowledged the significance of the collaboration with Saudi Arabia in enabling UNICEF to assist millions of children in distress around the world. The agreement signifies a pivotal step toward achieving UNICEF’s mission of safeguarding the rights and well-being of children on a global scale.

The partnership between Saudi Arabia and UNICEF falls within the broader framework of KSrelief’s commitment to enhancing cooperation with international and regional humanitarian organizations. By collaborating with various stakeholders, KSrelief strives to advance humanitarian work across diverse sectors and effectively address the pressing needs of vulnerable populations.

The joint agreement between Saudi Arabia and UNICEF marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to protect and promote the rights of children worldwide. Through strategic collaborations and targeted interventions, the two entities aim to create lasting positive change in the lives of children, ensuring their well-being, safety, and access to essential services.

Aid officials say that the Taliban had signalled international organisations could no longer be involved in education projects, in a move criticised by the U.N. but not yet confirmed by Afghan authorities.

UNICEF said it had received assurances from the education ministry that its community-based classes, which educate 500,000 students, would continue while they discussed the matter.

“As the lead agency for the education cluster in Afghanistan, UNICEF is engaged in constructive discussions with the de facto Ministry of Education and appreciates the commitment from the de facto minister to keep all … classes continuing while discussions take place about timelines and practicalities,” UNICEF’s Afghanistan spokesperson, Samantha Mort, told Reuters.

“In order to minimise disruption to children’s learning, it is imperative that any handover to national NGOs is done strategically and includes comprehensive assessment and capacity building.”

A spokesperson for the Taliban did not respond to request for comment. The Ministry of Education has not publicly confirmed the policy.

The Taliban, who took power in 2021, have closed most secondary schools to girls, stopped female students attending universities and stopped many Afghan women working for aid groups and the United Nations in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

International organisations have been heavily involved in education projects, and UNICEF made an agreement with the Taliban to run community classes before they took over the country.

Two humanitarian sources told Reuters this month that aid agencies had been told provincial authorities had been directed to stop the involvement of international organisations in education projects, possibly within weeks.

The U.N. spokesperson in New York said the move would be a “horrendous step backwards”.

UNICEF runs many community-based classes including for 300,000 girls, often in homes in rural areas.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan after a 20-year insurgency against U.S.-led forces with a speed and ease that took the world by surprise.

“UNICEF is deeply concerned by reports that over 500,000 children, including over 300,000 girls, could lose out on quality learning through community based education within a month if international non-governmental organizations working in the field of education are no longer allowed to operate,” said UNICEF’s Afghanistan spokesperson, Samantha Mort.

The agency was seeking clarification, she said.

Spokespeople for the Taliban administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Taliban administration that took power in 2021 has closed most secondary schools to girls, stopped female students attending universities and stopped many Afghan women working for aid groups and the United Nations.

However, international organisations, including the U.N., have been heavily involved in education projects, including community-based classes, often held in homes in rural areas.

Two humanitarian aid sources said that in recent days humanitarian agencies had heard that provincial authorities had been directed to stop the involvement of international organisations in education projects.

The Taliban administration had not confirmed any orders to aid agencies seeking clarity.

In New York, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “If this would come to pass this would be another horrendous step backwards for the people of Afghanistan.”

“We’ve not gotten anything official, anything in writing,” he said, adding that the U.N. message to the Taliban adminstration was that “every person has a right to an education.”

The U.N. estimates that 8.7 million Afghans are in need of humanitarian aid for education this year and it was planning to reach about 3 million people under a humanitarian package for the year, which was revised this week to reflect lower funding.

Cairo (AP) — About 300 infants, toddlers and older children have been rescued from an orphanage in Sudan’s capital after being trapped there while fighting raged outside, aid officials said Thursday. The evacuation came after 71 children died from hunger and illness in the facility since mid-April.

The tragedy at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage made headlines late last month as fighting raged outside between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The deaths have highlighted the heavy toll inflicted on civilians since mid-April when the clashes erupted between forces loyal to Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF forces led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

About 300 children at the Al-Mayqoma orphanage in Khartoum were transferred to a “safer location” elsewhere in the northeastern African nation, said Ricardo Pires, a spokesman for the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF.

Sudan’s ministries of social development and health have taken charge of the children, while UNICEF has provided humanitarian support including medical care, food, educational activities and play, Pires said in an email to The Associated Press.

He said the children had received medical checks following their long journey to their new location, adding that “any child requiring hospitalization will have access to healthcare.”

The International Committee of The Red Cross, which helped with the evacuation, said the children, aged between 1 month to 15 years, were relocated after securing a safe corridor to Madani, the capital of Jazira province, about 135 kilometers (85 miles) southeast of Khartoum. Seventy caretakers have been transferred with the children, the ICRC said.

“They (the children) spent incredibly difficult moments in an area where the conflict has been raging for the past 6 weeks without access to proper healthcare, an especially hard situation for children with special needs,” said Jean-Christophe Sandoz, the head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan.

Nazim Sirag, an activist who heads the local charity Hadhreen, said in a phone interview that the children were ferried late Tuesday to a newly established facility in Madani.

Sirag, whose charity led humanitarian efforts to help the orphanage and other nursing homes in Khartoum, said at least 71 children died at the Al-Mayqoma since the war in Sudan began on April 15.

Among the dead were babies as young as three months, according to death certificates obtained by the AP. The certificates listed circulatory collapse as a cause of death, but also mentioned other contributing factors such as fever, dehydration, malnutrition, and failure to thrive.

Their relocation followed an online campaign led by local activists and international charities, which intensified after the death of 26 children in two days at the orphanage in late May. The children had been trapped in the fighting for over seven weeks as food and other supplies dwindled. The facility was inaccessible because of the war had turned the capital and other urban areas into battlefields.

“The safe movement of these incredibly vulnerable children to a place of safety offers a ray of light in the midst of the ongoing conflict in Sudan,” Mandeep O’Brien, UNICEF Representative in Sudan, said in a statement. “Many millions of children remain at risk across Sudan.”

Local volunteers, meanwhile, evacuated 77 other children earlier this week from separate foster homes in the coastal, Sirag of Hadhreen said. The children have temporarily sheltered along with 11 adults in a school in the town of Hasahisa, also in Jazira province, he said.

The fighting has inflicted a heavy toll on civilians, particularly children. More than 860 civilians, including at least 190 children, were killed and thousands of others were wounded since April 15, according to Sudan’s Doctors’ Syndicate which tracks civilian casualties. The tally is likely to be much higher.

The conflict has forced more than 1.9 million people to flee their homes, including around 477,000 who crossed into neighboring countries, according to the U.N.’s migration agency. Others remain trapped inside their homes, unable to escape as food and water supplies dwindle. The clashes have also disrupted the work of humanitarian groups.

There have been reports of widespread looting and sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, which have seen some of the worst fighting in the conflict. Almost all reported cases of sexual attacks were blamed on the RSF, which didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.