In Lebanon, where nearly three-quarters of the population was living in poverty last year as the result of a political and economic collapse, between 70% and 80% of imported wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine. Key grain silos were also destroyed during the 2020 explosion at the Beirut port.

With an estimated 70% of the world's poor living in Africa, the continent will also be "very exposed" to rising food and energy prices, Arezki said.

Droughts and conflict in countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Burkina Faso have created a food security crisis for more than a quarter of the continent's population,

Political instability has already been building in parts of the continent. A series of coups have taken place in West and Central Africa since the start of 2021.

Even countries with more developed economies, which have greater buffers to shield citizens from painful price increases, won't have the tools to fully cushion the blow.