Formally known as "IRIN/PlusNews," PlusNews [1] is part of the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network IRIN under the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs OCHA.
Offering content free of charge to web sites and publications in order to increase awareness, the service is now one of the largest providers of original HIV and AIDS reporting.
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.
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.