PlusNews is the global online HIV and AIDS news service of the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

It is the most comprehensive source of original reporting on the pandemic, providing a professionally produced, one-stop information service for cutting-edge, but jargon-free news and analysis on HIV and AIDS in four languages - English, French, Portuguese and Arabic.

In a poll of PlusNews subscribers, more than 80 percent of those surveyed ranked PlusNews as "excellent and indispensable", or "good and very useful"; 86 percent said PlusNews provided information "not available from other agencies or news services".

PlusNews Goals

PlusNews aims to promote dialogue and foster knowledge, awareness and advocacy among decision-makers, the media and those affected by the epidemic. Its coverage footprint includes Africa, Asia the Middle East and now Latin America and the Caribbean.

Specifically, the service strives to:

  Improve the flow of accurate and accessible reporting on HIV and AIDS
  Encourage the sharing of ideas, research and best practice
  Promote the voices of those living with the virus

PlusNews Content

As a multimedia news service, PlusNews provides you with the following content:

News Service: The news service mixes colour features with in-depth analysis and is reproduced both online and in hard copy. Local media are actively encouraged to reprint PlusNews copy, while recently added RSS feeds mean readers can choose to receive only what they want, when they want.

Hear Our Voices: Poignant personal testimonies by people affected by HIV and AIDS from around the world, telling their stories in their own words.

Radio Service: A rip-and-read radio news service in Portuguese, circulated through NGO partners and UN agencies in Mozambique and Angola. PlusNews also has in-house recording studios in Johannesburg and Dakar.

Country Profiles: Annotated contact details for relevant government departments, national HIV/AIDS programmes, active NGOs and organisations of people living with AIDS in more than 50 countries worldwide; country socio-economic indicators and the latest epidemiological data.

Fact Files: Straightforward guides for journalists and media practitioners that examine some of the key issues around prevention and treatment among vulnerable groups.

News Digest: A weekly electronic newsletter. It includes summaries of the articles produced that week, a selection of upcoming conferences; a synopsis of selected research; and web links to the latest resource materials.