People living with HIV will finally have the right to enter into the United States after President Barack Obama formally announced the lifting of the US HIV Travel and Immigration Ban.
Created 22 years ago, the ban was one of the world’s most restrictive immigration policies for People living with HIV, preventing them from entering the country even on short-term business or tourist visas unless they applied for a special dispensation on a case by case basis.
President Obama announced plans for the repeal while signing a bill reauthorising federal funding for an HIV-related healthcare policy, saying the ban was ‘rooted in fear rather than fact’.
‘If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it,’ the President said.
The process of ending the ban was initiated by President Bush as part of his PEPFAR plan (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief ) and the US congress voted to overturn the ban in July 2008.
‘Congress and President Bush began this process last year, and they ought to be commended for it,’ said President Obama, adding that his administration was simply ‘finishing the job.’
Both National and International HIV and Human Rights organisations have praised the lifting of the ban with ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill stating that lifting the ban will significantly improve HIV prevention efforts both in the US and globally.
‘Removing the ban on HIV-positive people entering the US is indeed a step that will save lives,’ Mr Parkhill told online GLBTI news service, SameSame.com.au.
‘At an international level, it will help ease the stigma associated with HIV and encourage people to get tested and receive treatment.’
President Obama also spoke about reducing the stigma associated with HIV saying that the US has for too long ‘treated a visitor living with it as a threat’.
‘We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic, yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country,’ said the President.
Other countries with travel restrictions for people living with HIV include Russia, South Korea, Singapore, Sudan, Yemen and Brunei.
The International AIDS Society (IAS) reversed plans to hold the 1992 International AIDS Conference in Boston because of the ban; however they now say they may consider holding an upcoming International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC now that the laws are set to change.
The ban will officially be lifted on January 4, 2010 after a 60-day waiting period.
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