Published On 4/27/2026
The Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, warned that the interruption of fertilizer supplies through the Strait of Hormuz threatens to cause a global humanitarian catastrophe.
He said in statements to Al Jazeera that the continuation of navigational disturbances will push millions of people into the cycle of hunger and famine, noting that the prices of raw materials for fertilizers have recorded record increases, stressing the necessity of urgent diplomatic action to ensure the security of supply chains.
In a related context, an international report warned that the conflict in the Middle East may exacerbate existing crises, revealing that 266 million people in 47 countries or regions faced high levels of acute food insecurity during the year 2025, which is nearly double the number recorded in 2016.
The “State of World Food Security 2026” report – issued by a coalition that includes agencies of the United Nations, the European Union and other partners – showed that two-thirds of the people who faced food crises in the world during the past year live in only 10 countries.
The spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric, had previously confirmed that António Guterres had established a special UN working group to address the repercussions of the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz as a result of the American-Israeli war on Iran. He added that the task of the working group was to create a new mechanism to facilitate the trade in fertilizers and the transportation of raw materials through the strait.
Guterres’ spokesman explained, in press statements at the United Nations headquarters in New York, that the UN working group is led by the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, Jorge Moreira da Silva, and includes UN and international organizations specialized in trade and navigation.
This team aims to establish technical mechanisms to ensure that the humanitarian needs associated with the Strait are met, and to develop proposals “tailored to meet these needs.”
