We are now facing a perfect storm  as the war in Ukraine exacerbates an already struggling global economy, said UN Secretary General António Guterres.

The war could lead to a three-dimensional crisis in food, energy and finance, he said, areas that have already been hit hard by Covid-19 and climate change.

“We are now facing a perfect storm that threatens to devastate the economies of developing countries,” he said.

The UN report says that Russia and Ukraine provide about 30% of the world's wheat and barley consumption, while Russia is also the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest exporter of oil and a major fertilizer producer.

The UN says that up to 1.7 billion people in 107 countries are likely to be affected by at least one of the three crises, especially in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The UN brief offers numerous short-term and long-term recommendations to help avert global crises, including the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.