HIV/AIDS travel ban lift: What does it mean?
Obama’s being credited with lifting a 22 year ban on HIV-positive foreigners entering the U.S. but it was former president George W. Bush, a staunch Republican, who set in motion the end of the ban by removing HIV from a list of diseases "of public health significance."
Until Monday, people living with the virus could receive 30-day waivers to visit the U.S., the ban made it nearly impossible for HIV-positive individuals to study or work at US institutions. It had kept out thousands of HIV-positive students, tourists, refugees and would-be adopted children.
Why the big deal?
The repeal is a statement that the United States will no longer discriminate against people with HIV and does not retain the phobias of the past.
The decision also demonstrates an understanding by the Obama administration that in order to curb the disease, the country must lead the way in ending the stigma and misinformation surrounding the disease.
On Monday, the U.S. took itself out of the company of 10 other countries that continue to deny entry to HIV-positive people:
- Armenia, Brunei, Iraq, Libya, Moldova, Oman, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.
- South Korea lifted its own restrictions on January 1.
- China did so in the wake of the Olympics in 2008.
Just days after the ban, the impact is already evident. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that for the first time since 1989, the United States would again host the World AIDS Conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C., in 2012. The conference brings together the world's top researchers and experts on HIV and AIDS.
History of the ban
The U.S. is without a doubt the most generous in helping people with HIV. This reality makes it particularly upsetting that the country would legally ban all non-Americans who are HIV-positive, but that’s exactly what happened for two decades.
- The ban was the brainchild of Sen. Jesse Helms (who came to regret his initial hostility toward people with HIV and AIDS).
- President George H.W. Bush sought to drop the ban, but in 1993, after a scare about Haitian refugees, Congress wrote it into law – the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- HIV was the only medical condition that legally prevents someone from immigrating or even visiting the country. Even leprosy and tuberculosis are left to the discretion of the secretary of health and human services.
What can you do?
Help end the shame and half truths surrounding the disease.
