Rising global inflation is expected to wallop emerging and developing countries this year, adding to a confluence of crises, the UN's acting human rights chief has said.

Nada Al- Nashif cited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that advanced economies should brace themselves for average inflation rates of 6.6 percent in 2022, well below the 9.5 percent rate expected to hit poorer nations.

She added that although the world's richest countries had seen employment rates return or exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021 most middle-income countries had not yet managed to recover from the Covid crisis.

The coronavirus had exposed and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and set back sustainable growth by several years in many parts of the world, the acting UN rights chief told the Human Rights Council in Geneva Thursday.

Unsustainable sovereign debt burdens had also weighed down many developing nations because they had negative repercussions for providing social protection, Al-Nashif said, adding that many countries now faced unprecedented fiscal challenges because their hands had been tied by expensive loan repayments.

To make matters worse, the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February had led to major human suffering inside the country, and beyond its borders.

The war had also triggered new disruption to global supply chains, contributing to skyrocketing fuel and food prices that had affected women and girls disproportionately, Al-Nashif said.

According to the World Bank, 75 to 95 million more people are expected to live in extreme poverty this year, compared to pre-pandemic projections.

The confluence of crises has created spin-off effects on food and nutrition, health and education, the environment, peace and security, further undermining progress toward the realisation of the 2030 Agenda and jeopardising sustainable recovery from the pandemic, Al-Nashif said.