6 March 2026, Suzanne Fenton
\nAs conflict in the Middle East escalates, the World Food Programme (WFP) is mobilizing one of its most complex emergency responses in years, including on behalf of the wider humanitarian community. We spoke to Ayman Soweilam in Cairo, Head of Field Support, about how WFP is ensuring urgently needed food keeps moving despite hugely disrupted supply chains, and how the agency was well prepared for an emergency on this scale. <\/p>\n
Prior to the current conflict, Lebanon was already facing urgent food needs due to conflict and economic crisis, as reflected by this WFP and UNICEF operation moving food from Beirut to Rmaych.
\nThe disruption to the global transport market. The Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman is the Gulf\u2019s only sea passage and is currently closed, while ships are avoiding the pivotal Suez Canal in Egypt. This has caused a huge backlog and significantly increased the cost of fuel in particular, which affects trucking and shipping operations on a global scale. We also have 21,000 metric tons of wheat in the Port of Salalah in southern Oman, that we are working to get out now.
\nEven air transport is heavily disrupted on the usual routes. We didn\u2019t expect to have this scale of airport closures. We are used to one or two countries closing their airspace but not multiple ones and not major regional hubs, like Dubai and Doha. The crisis is also causing a spike in global food prices, which is a serious problem for vulnerable populations and pushes more people into food insecurity. This brings to memory the global food crisis of 2022 following COVID-19 and the start of the war in Ukraine.
\nWhat initial steps do you need to take in a crisis of this scale?
\nOn day one, a group of WFP supply chain experts began working out how to move highly nutritious food-critical in an emergency, especially for children in life-threatening situations- from Europe to Afghanistan without passing through Iran, our traditional corridor. It is like a riddle you have to solve. We can\u2019t go through the Suez Canal, we can\u2019t go around the Cape of Good Hope [off South Africa] as this adds on an extra 20 days or so that we just don\u2019t have. So we analysed different routes using sea, river, road, ferry, rail and truck, and designed routes across the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Caspian Sea to keep nutritious foods moving. The pipeline cannot stop-it just can\u2019t.
\nHow is WFP\u2019s response taking shape after almost a week of the conflict?
\nWe had emergency response stock ready to go for the region, based in T\u00fcrkiye where we have a huge number of suppliers. We sent 25,000 ready-to-eat parcels to Lebanon within 72 hours. One parcel will feed a family for two weeks. We are scaling up our operations in Syria and monitoring border movements from Lebanon, as well as monitoring all borders with Iran, in the event people start to cross and take shelter in T\u00fcrkiye or Iraq. At the same time, we are working with our partners to find quick alternative routes, using advanced innovative planning tools like PRISMA, SCOUT and Route the Meals.
\nWhy is WFP\u2019s supply chain operation so critical at a time like this?
\nOur partners, and the people we support, rely on us and trust us. They know if we cannot do it, no one in the humanitarian sector can do it. We\u2019ve focused heavily in recent years on digital planning, stock management, route planning and tracking, all innovations that help us be more efficient and move and deliver food safely and on time \u2013 which is obviously essential during emergencies on this scale.
\nThe WFP-led Logistics Cluster sees us coordinate with every humanitarian player on the ground, sharing common logistics facilities, providing services to partners who don\u2019t have capacity and sharing expert guidance. For this response, we are coordinating on behalf of partner organizations, which are sending other critical assistance such as shelter, relief, hygiene kits, and water, sanitation and hygiene items.
\nWFP leads the Logistics Cluster, at work here in Ukraine, while (right), WFP trucks are on the move in Lebanon [both photos prior to the current conflict]. Photos: WFP\/Viktor Pesenti & WFP\/Mohammed Awadh
\nHow does WFP anticipate and plan for an emergency on this scale?
\nPreparedness is the first step towards a successful response. We don\u2019t ask if there will be another emergency, but when. Every year, supply chain teams map out roads, ports, airports, and other facilities in countries. The humanitarian community relies on these assessments.
\nFor this emergency, we developed an operational plan six months ago, based on three scenarios in terms of severity. This emergency is at the highest end of that scale. WFP manages an Emergency Preparedness Trust Fund, funded by the European Union. This means we can immediately send food assistance at the onset of an emergency, with the food now on its way to affected populations.
\nHow will WFP adapt its operations if this emergency continues?
\nWe\u2019ll continue to scale up. Within two weeks we\u2019ll have more warehouses, more routes, more trucks on the road, and start receiving food and possibly being able to give cash or vouchers to people to use in local markets. If needed, we can operate our own flights to reach people via UNHAS [the WFP-managed United Nations Humanitarian Air Service]. We did this during the global COVID-19 response, where all airlines were down and WFP became the biggest one operating. We could have more corridors, more ships, more planes in the air or even trains \u2013 we have experience reaching Afghanistan by rail. In the past, trains came. from Turkiye, through Iran and Turkmenistan to Afghanistan. Now we\u2019re looking into a different route where we cross the Caspian Sea and go through the Caucasus.
\nA WFP staffer oversees the offloading of rice bags on trucks at the port of Aden, Yemen, back in 2024, while (right) Ayman Soweilam is pictured at work in Djibouti. Photos: WFP\/Alaa Noman \/ WFP.
\nWhere were you when you first heard about the crisis?
\nIt was a Saturday morning and I was taking my son to his football game in Rome. My phone started pinging. I realized quickly that it wasn\u2019t a normal emergency and wouldn\u2019t be a normal response. From the very start, it escalated very quickly and started having a global effect, which meant that we would need to scale up very quickly and get ahead of the situation. Those first few days of any emergency response are critical to defining how the response will go.
\nHow do you lead calmly when everyone is looking to you for stability?
\nI have a lot of experience in major emergencies like Ukraine, Palestine and the T\u00fcrkiye-Syria earthquake response. The experience stays with you and does affect you. In T\u00fcrkiye, I could see within minutes how people go from living a normal life to needing life-saving assistance. This is where you feel the stress of responding quickly but effectively. Being in panic mode doesn\u2019t help: it means we will not move and won\u2019t make the right decisions. Yes, we make quick decisions, but well-informed ones.
\nWhat message do you have for donors and partners?
\nWFP is fully mobilized but we can do more if we have resources. What we need right now is fast support to keep our supply chain operating as a critical lifeline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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