 HIV-positive people may soon be able to travel to the US.
Last week, President George W. Bush signed a new law to allow the removal of a 20-year-ban on HIV-positive foreign nationals entering the US.
Currently, HIV-positive people looking to permanently immigrate to the US can not do so, and short-term visitors are required to disclose whether or not they have a ‘communicable disease’ on their visa application process, and if so, they must obtain a special waiver for entry.
The legislation means that Bush has approved the changes to the Immigration Act, and passed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which increased the US budget to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis from US$15billion to $48billion.
Speaking from the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, People Living With HIV/AIDS Victoria president Brett Hayhoe cautiously welcomed the news.
“What the signing of the PEPFAR has done is the equivalent of giving an [Australian] Minister of Health the ability to now lift the travel ban and immigration ban of HIV positive people into the United States of America,” Hayhoe said.
“Hopefully, whoever that person is has the intelligence to now do that. It’s a ridiculously discriminatory policy, it should have never have been introduced, and the sooner it becomes abolished, the better it will be for America and for human rights around the world, quite frankly.”
The legislation marks a watershed in US HIV/AIDS policy, since the US is one of just 12 countries, including Iraq, Russia and Korea, that bar HIV-positive visitors, according to the Houston Chronicle. There are still 67 countries with differing provisions on entry for HIV-positive people.
If the US Department of Health and Human Services follows the presidential lead, the move would bring US law into line with countries like Australia, which does not ban HIV-positive foreigners from entering the country.
However, HIV-positive people over the age of 15 seeking permanent residence in Australia must be tested for the disease, and more and more prospective immigrants have been refused entry because of healthcare costs, according to HIV/AIDS travellers global database hivtravel.org.
Meanwhile, China has refused to lift its ban on foreign visitors with HIV/AIDS ahead of the Beijing Olympics, which begin this week.
While short-term visitors must declare their HIV status at the border, HIV-positive people seeking long-term visas or residency in China may be rejected entry, notes hivtravel.org.
IMAGE: George W. Bush signs the United States Global Leadership
Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorisation Act of 2008
at the White House, Washington.
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