In 1990-2007, the number of hungry people rose by about 80m, though this was, by and large, a period of rising incomes in developing countries (and a huge increase in population). In 2008 alone, the number rose a further 40m, to 963m — half as much in one year as during the previous 17. In other words, lots more children and pregnant women are not getting the food they need. The report reckons that the number of underweight children will rise from 121m to 125m by 2010, assuming no change in the size of the world economy (in fact, it is expected to shrink 2 per cent this year). The World Bank has already estimated that until 2015 the crisis will lead to between 200,000 and 400,000 more children dying every year.

The poorest face two crises: the world recession and the resumption of food-price rises. Food prices had been falling but even then, the global price fall did not translate into a comparable decline on local markets in most poor countries, so the poor did not benefit much. World prices bottomed out in December 2008 and have since risen 26 per cent. In the poorest countries, a rise of 50 per cent in the price of staples pushes up the family food budget from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of household income.

Initially, people skimp on non-staple foods, cutting the quality and diversity of their intake; in the next stage, the quantity and safety of diets suffer. That in turn damages their health. Currently, around 50m, or 40 per cent, of pregnant women in developing countries are anaemic. Anaemia in expectant mothers, which causes low birth weight and unhealthier babies, is likely to rise by a further 1.2m in Asia and 700,000 in Africa.

To make matters worse, this is happening at a time when the global slump is causing job losses or wage squeezes everywhere — worldwide unemployment rose to 6 per cent in 2008 — so in some poor countries, it now takes an extra ten hours a week or more to feed a family of five.

The resulting burden falls heavily on women. As the report says starkly: "Women are usually the last to benefit from increasing income [but] they are usually the first to make sacrifices when the financial situation deteriorates."

© The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009