Published on: 2026-06-13
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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At the warehouse of the World Food Programme (WFP) on the outskirts of Kabul, Abdul Asad Monib observes as trucks with food finally arrive at the unloading areas after several weeks of travel. To deliver school meals to Afghan children, the cargo had to overcome 15,000 kilometers. Along the way, the route was changed multiple times.roadtraveled through nine countries.
“The route had to be changed several times, but our main task remained to deliver aid to Afghan schoolchildren as quickly as possible,” says Monib, a logistics officer at WFP.
Ensure children have the opportunity to learn
The path through deserts, mountains, and seas clearly illustrates the difficulties faced by the UN World Food Programme in delivering food aid to those in need, as well as the necessity to quickly adapt to changing conditions.
“Every year, WFP delivers millions of tons of food to the most hard-to-reach areas of the world. When one route becomes inaccessible, we look for alternative solutions and coordinate delivery through several countries,” said WFP Director for Logistics Korinn Flaysher.
In the closed area
Almost 400 tons of food were sent from the Indonesian port of Surabaya to the Pakistani port of Karachi. The Indonesian government allocated 3.5 million dollars to support WFP and school feeding in Afghanistan. Under this program, 172 thousand schoolchildren will receive food aid.
From Karachi, the cargo was planned to be delivered overland through Pakistan to Afghanistan. However, due to rising tensions between the countries, the border was closed, and UN World Food Programme (WFP) had to urgently look for an alternative route. Every day of delay threatened the timely delivery of food aid to children for whom school meals are critically important.
Obstacles at every step
Waiting for the border to open was impossible. VPP employees redirected the cargo to the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, from where it was planned to send it through the Persian Gulf to Iran, and then deliver it overland to Afghanistan. However, due to instability in the Middle East and restrictions in the Hormuz Strait area, the route had to be reconsidered again.
As a result, a new supply corridor through the Caucasus was found. Although this route turned out to be longer, more expensive, and more difficult, there were no other options left.
Long road
This morning, a convoy of 21 trucks left Dubai and set off through the deserts of the Middle East and the Caucasus. The route passed through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Georgia, then across the Caspian Sea to Turkmenistan and further into Afghanistan.
At each stage, new permits were required. Drivers waited for hours at the border checkpoint, processed documents, and rested right in the truck cabins.
“At the ferry crossing in the Azerbaijani port of Alyat, we were met by a queue of hundreds of trucks almost 30 kilometers long,” says driver Huseyn Sarrach Ulus, who traveled about three thousand kilometers from Dubai to the Caspian Sea coast. “It was not easy, but the awareness that the cargo would help children gave me strength.”
More than a snack
For Afghan schoolchildren, vitamin-fortified biscuits distributed by WFP under the school feeding program are not just a snack. In communities suffering from hunger and poverty, it often becomes the most nutritious food children receive all day. Last year, WFP provided school meals to 1.3 million students across eight provinces of Afghanistan.
According to estimates, in 2026, nearly 4.9 million women and children in the country will be malnourished – this is the highest figure in recent years. The situation is exacerbated by frequent floods and earthquakes, reduction of humanitarian funding, and a crisis at the country’s borders. Under these conditions, UNHCR assistance remains critically important for millions of people.
Delivery of cargo to schools in the provinces in the central, northeastern, and eastern parts of Afghanistan took several weeks. “For children, this is just a pack of cookies that helps them stay healthy,” says Abdul Al Monib. “But behind each such pack stand thousands of kilometers of travel, delays, and route changes. Despite all obstacles, WFP delivers aid to those who need it.”
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