Today, 40 million people are living with HIV, and the pandemic is still spreading, a full quarter of a century after the virus was first identified. Despite the availability of drugs that can prolong people’s lives, far too few have access to them. Although how to prevent infection is known, so many factors still stand in the way of stopping transmission.
Launched in Johannesburg in 2001, PlusNews is an e-mail and internet-based service set up by the United Nation’s Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) to provide a one-stop platform for HIV and AIDS news and analysis, personal testimonies, photographs, country profiles and fact files, radio and film.
In 2004, PlusNews launched its French-language service based in Dakar, followed a year later by PlusNews Portuguese based out of Johannesburg. Today, as the organisation expands into Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, PlusNews articles are extensively reposted on electronic mailing lists, key news and advocacy websites, and regional newspapers.
As an organisation, PlusNews aims to support dialogue on HIV and AIDS, and promote knowledge, awareness and advocacy among decision-makers, the media and those directly affected by the epidemic.