NAIROBI, 6 March (PLUSNEWS) - The Ethiopian Ministry of Health has announced that it will provide free antiretroviral therapy (ART) and treatment of opportunistic infections for 58,000 HIV-positive people until the beginning of July. Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 25 October (PLUSNEWS) - Ethiopia has one of the largest populations of orphans in the world with nearly half of the children having lost at least one of their parents. Full report

HARGEYSA, 18 October (PLUSNEWS) - Authorities in Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, launched on Saturday a commission to coordinate efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. Full report

NAIROBI, 12 September (PLUSNEWS) - Sweden has donated nearly US $5 million to the UN children's agency to strengthen the organisation's capacity to deal with the growing number of AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 24 May (PLUSNEWS) - Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Tuesday announced a massive expansion of health coverage for the 35 million Ethiopians who do not have access to hospitals and clinics. Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 15 April (PLUSNEWS) - Ethiopia is facing serious challenges in overcoming its HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to a report released by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday. Full report

DADAAB, 26 February (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - HIV/AIDS awareness messages are falling on fertile ground in Dadaab refugee camp, in northeastern Kenya, where more than 140,000 Somalis who have fled insecurity in their home country have found a safe haven. Full report

NAIROBI, 31 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Somali women are taking the initiative in the fight against AIDS with a programme to educate their peers in this conservative Muslim nation. Full report

ADDIS ABABA, 8 January (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Efforts to address the plight of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS are lagging behind in Ethiopia's profoundly conservative society, while they continue to bear the brunt of the epidemic. Full report

NAIROBI, 5 December (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Somalia's HIV prevalence of about one percent is low, but the cross-border movement of people is causing an increase in infection rates, according to Dr Fernando Morales of the UN Children's Fund's Somalia office. Northwestern Somalia, which shares a frontier with Ethiopia, is particularly at risk. Full report

NAIROBI, 22 November (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - In the two years since the first voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) centre opened up in Somalia, HIV treatment, care and support has come a long way, but renewed violence threatens those gains. Full report

SHIMELBA, 2 November (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Every evening as the sun sets over the hills of northern Ethiopia, young couples can be seen strolling past the coffee shops and pool halls of Shimelba refugee camp. Full report