A UN report says hunger in South Asia has reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn.

The report by the UN children's fund, UNICEF, says that 100 million more people in the region are going hungry compared with two years ago, the BBC reported.

The report says South Asia's governments need to urgently increase social spending to meet the challenge. It says that climate change and urbanisation also need tackling.

According to the World Bank, three quarters of the population in South Asia - almost 1,2 B people - live on less than USD 2 a day. And more than 400 M people in the region are now chronically hungry.

The report focused on the impact the economic crisis had on women and children, saying they are the people most vulnerable during a downturn.

"We are on the verge of a crisis," Aniruddha Bonnerjee, a UNICEF consultant said.

The report cites a number of factors for and symptoms of the sharp rise in people living in hunger and poverty: Declining wages at home; A drop in remittances from abroad; Poor women often go without food to feed their families; Children can be pulled out of school and sent to work; High prices have forced people to borrow money at high interest; Income is spent on food but not on other essentials.

Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan are the worst affected but even the region's economic giant, India, has suffered because of job losses and lower remittances from Indians living abroad.