US. urged to end ban on HIV-positive travelers

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US. urged to end ban on HIV-positive travelers

Mon Aug 14, 9:20 PM ET

SUMMARY: At Toronto's AIDS conference, an activist coalition calls on the United States to end its ban on HIV-positive foreign nationals entering the country.

As the 16th International AIDS Conference got under way Sunday in Toronto, a coalition of HIV, immigrant, and refugee service advocates called on the United States to end its ban on HIV-positive foreign nationals entering the country.

The group, Lift the Bar, said the U.S. policy has kept the conference from coming to the United States for 16 years.

Since 1987 HIV-positive foreign nationals have been banned from entering or transiting through the United States. Those already living in the United States have been barred from most types of legal status. As a result, they are ineligible for most public health benefits and at risk for deportation to their countries of origin, except in limited circumstances.

Lift the Bar maintains that U.S. adherence to the travel ban and immigration bar, in defiance of medical knowledge and humanitarian concerns, demonstrates a disturbing commitment to preserving discriminatory practices.

While there is a waiver available to HIV-positive foreign nationals entering the U.S. to attend specially "designated events," it requires individuals to disclose their HIV status -- a disclosure that may limit their ability to travel to, or through, the United States in the future. A waiver is required even when a traveler's U.S. stay merely involves changing planes.

The 16th International AIDS Conference has been titled AIDS 2006. An estimated 24,000 people are expected to attend, making it the biggest AIDS conference ever. (The Advocate) If you'd like to know more, you can find stories related to U.S. urged to end ban on HIV-positive travelers. To receive NewsPlanet every day right in your mailbox, send email to newsplanet@... with the word "subscribe", or sign up here!

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