UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the effects of the war in Ukraine on the world are worsening, with 1.6 billion people likely to be affected.

"The war's impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe, and speeding up," the Secretary-General said, presenting the UN's second report into the repercussions of the conflict.

He added that "for people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake."

"There is only one way to stop this gathering storm: the Russian invasion of Ukraine must end," he pleaded in a speech.

He added that he asked colleagues to help find "a package deal that allows for the safe and secure export of Ukrainian-produced food through the Black Sea, and unimpeded access to global markets for Russian food and fertilizers."

"This deal is essential for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, including in sub-Saharan Africa," said Guterres.

The U.N. report, prepared by diplomat Rebeca Greenspan, said some 94 countries with about 1.6 billion people are "severely exposed to at least one dimension of the crisis and unable to cope with it."

"Out of the 1.6 billion, 1.2 billion or three quarters live in 'perfect-storm' countries that are severely exposed and vulnerable to all three dimensions of finance, food, and energy, simultaneously," it adds.

The report says the war could increase the number of people suffering from food shortages by 47 million in 2022, bringing them to 323 million by the end of the year.

It is estimated that up to 58 million Africans could fall below the poverty line this year.

Extreme poverty in the Middle East and North Africa could increase by 2.8 million in 2022, according to the report, while 500 million people in South Asia are at risk. "Concrete efforts should be made to ensure critical supplies of food and energy reach the most vulnerable," the report says.