Author: Hosted by Anna Maria Tremonti
22 December 2009
HIV Travel
In two weeks, the United States will change one of its more sweeping regulations.
For more than 20 years, it has had an official ban on anyone with HIV or AIDS from crossing the border into the Country... whether to visit, travel, work or marry. For as long as the law has been in place, there has been opposition to it. AIDS activists say that policy has separated family members, threatened people's livelihoods, and stigmatized people because of an illness. Now, years of lobbying have paid off ... on Monday January 4th, the ban will be lifted.
For many though, the damage has already been done. Francisco Ibanez-Carrasco says his life has been dramatically altered because of the ban. He's a writer, as well as an AIDS educator and researcher, and a Program Manager at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. He was in Toronto.
HIV Travel - AIDS Society
But while the United States is lifting its ban, many other countries still restrict entry based on HIV status. Ron MacInnis tracks those restrictions with concern. He is a Senior Advisor with the International AIDS Society and he was in Washington.
HIV Travel - Canadian Network
Canada does not restrict entry based on HIV status. But HIV status is a factor when Immigration Canada considers applications. And Sandra Chu says it's time to re-think that policy. She is a Senior Policy Analyst with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. She was in Vancouver.
We contacted Citizenship and Immigration Canada to find out if the agency is reconsidering its policy. A spokesperson said the department is consulting its public health partners on HIV notification and that it continues to work to strengthen the management of newcomers to Canada who are living with HIV. That includes the HIV notification process.
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