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, 8 March (PLUSNEWS) - On the occasion of International Women's Day, a campaign against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been launched throughout Somalia, where an estimated 98 percent of all women have undergone the ritual. Full report

NAIROBI, 1 December (PLUSNEWS) - On the occasion of World AIDS Day, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has appealed to Somali leaders to join the fight against the disease and support the youth in tackling it, according to a press statement issued by the agency on Monday. Full report

NAIROBI, 16 July (PLUSNEWS) - A group of campaigners against HIV/AIDS in Somalia, called AIDSOM, last week held the country's first-ever public awareness demonstration in the coastal town of Marka, south of Mogadishu. 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

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

NAIROBI, 18 August (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - Somalia's health care system is virtually nonexistent after fifteen years of violence and lawlessness, leaving HIV-positive pregnant women without the services and knowledge they need to prevent them from transmitting the virus to their unborn babies. Full report

HARGEYSA, 5 July (PLUSNEWS - DFID) - In the self-declared republic of Somaliland, where discussions about sex remain taboo, a group of young people have been passing the HIV/AIDS message on to their peers through a youth-friendly magazine, Koor. Full report