Malnutrition and hunger rise as economic crisis hits world’s poorest people

The global economic crisis could trigger another worldwide famine, with millions of people losing their jobs in poor nations that already face huge food problems, a top United Nations official has warned.

The number of hungry people in the world could rise this year by up to 100 million—on top of the nearly one billion people who were undernourished in 2008, said David Nabarro, head of the UN’s task force on the global food security crisis.

“We are anticipating, with the reduction in their purchasing power . . . that they are going to be facing extreme problems in ensuring that they can …