How to deliver food in a war zone

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Short-staffed, underfunded and trying to meet the needs of growing numbers of people affected by conflict and climate disaster, the humanitarian aid sector faces a new reality. Operating in the field has never been more difficult. The effects of war and flooding in Sudan and South Sudan, for instance, are severely restricting access, while fuel shortages and rising prices are impacting transport costs. Coordinating safe passage with state actors and non-state armed groups is particularly challenging in Sudan, where militia groups control different territories. “In emergencies, time has a different value. People are dying of hunger,” says Sami Guessabi, Action Against Hunger’s country director in Sudan.

In Gaza, obstacles start at the border. “Crossings are not always open,” says Natalia Anguera, Action Against Hunger’s head of operations for the Middle East. Tonnes of food sit in idle trucks. Before October 2023 at least 500 trucks a day were crossing into Gaza to meet basic needs. This October, a daily average of only 37 trucks were allowed to pass. According to the World Food Programme, more than 90 per cent of the population face acute levels of food insecurity. 

Safety is another major concern. In April, three cars belonging to the food relief organisation World Central Kitchen were hit by Israeli drones in a high-profile attack that resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers. This happened despite two of the three vehicles being clearly marked with the WCK logo and the convoy’s route being coordinated with Israeli forces. WCK suspended operations in Gaza. When it resumed work in Gaza later that month, its founder chef, José Andrés, wrote it was with “at best a limited understanding of how humanitarian aid workers will be protected in the coming weeks and months”. 

Delivering aid through cash is a way to foster local markets

Richard Blewitt, executive director of international at the British Red Cross, talks about greater resources needing to be diverted towards safety measures and risk management. The #NotATarget social media campaign and World Humanitarian Day commemorations are part of wider efforts to combat the normalisation of violence against aid workers. Organisations such as the Red Cross – which have traditionally prioritised behind-the-scenes dialogue with parties to the conflict – are openly calling for greater respect of international humanitarian law.

More broadly, a shift towards using preemptive measures can minimise the risks, obstacles and costs involved in international emergency responses. These may include strengthening early warning systems, stockpiling food aid and distributing drought-resistant seed.

When funds are earmarked for food and aid can’t get through, cash donations or vouchers can be an effective alternative, so long as produce is available and financial systems are still in place. “More than 20 per cent of humanitarian aid is now delivered through cash,” says Blewitt. “It can be delivered without trucking in [supplies] and is a way to foster local markets. The Ukrainian Red Cross runs a major cash programme for veterans, complements the government in delivering cash to displaced persons, and has been able to bring cash right to the frontlines.” After October 2023, cash assistance was a vital part of the humanitarian response in Gaza, where 865,000 people have since received cash assistance to spend mostly on food and drinking water. The collapse of infrastructure and rising prices have made that a less feasible option now. 

Over the summer, the World Food Programme was reaching more than one million people a month in Gaza with food parcels, wheat flour, bread and hot meals, with a number of WFP-supported bakeries and community kitchens remaining operational, though often open on an ad-hoc basis, with some forced to close completely. The Palestine Red Crescent Society was able to distribute 11,000 food parcels in North Gaza in September; the Lebanese Red Cross has distributed 115,000 food parcels in Lebanon since September; and, in Sudan, around 10,000 newly displaced people in the famine-hit Zamzam camp in North Darfur have started receiving two hot meals a day thanks to community kitchens supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross and Sudanese Red Crescent Society. Among operations elsewhere, Action Against Hunger has set up significant aid programmes in countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Ethiopia, despite armed conflicts, climate shocks and economic collapse.

Whatever the obstacles and threats, the determination to help remains. “Some of my local colleagues in Gaza have been displaced two or three times,” says Anguera. “The same in Lebanon before the ceasefire. The easiest thing would be to leave. But they go on supporting their communities. Being a humanitarian is a state of mind. When there’s a need, we run towards it.”

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