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More than halfway through 2009, United Nations agencies and their humanitarian partners face a nearly $5 billion gap in funding to respond to the most severe crises, with the UN’s top relief official warning today that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people have been hardest hit by the global recession.

The global financial crisis has led to signs of an increase in Cambodian women entering the sex trade, says a new United Nations report, which recommends strengthening social safety nets and improving job training and placement to help women avoid such dangerous and exploitative work.

The United Nations has helped train nearly 90 officials of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations on the consolidation and advancement of the rule of law, a top priority of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The former president of Ghana, John Kufuor, today was named a Global Ambassador against Hunger – with a focus on the need to provide good nutrition for the 66 million children who go to school hungry every day – for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

With one month to go until Afghans elect the country’s next leader, the United Nations said today that preparations are in full swing and that no effort will be spared to ensure security, considered the biggest challenge for the elections.

A new United Nations-backed report on investment in HIV prevention research in 2008 finds that funding levels for a possible vaccine for the virus have decreased for the first time since investment trends have been tracked.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will be sending text messages to millions of Zambian parents this week as part of a new initiative to harness modern technology in the fight to prevent polio.

Progress on key elements in Nepal’s peace process have slowed down or stalled altogether owing to the country’s recent political crisis, says Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who proposes a six-month extension of the United Nations mission to continue assisting with remaining tasks.

Somali militants raided two United Nations compounds today, stealing equipment and vehicles and forcing the world body to close down one of its operations in the violence-wracked country.

Climate change, which Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called “the defining challenge of our era,” will feature prominently on the United Nations chief’s visits later this week to China and Mongolia, his spokesperson said today.