UNAIDS calls for removal of HIV/AIDS travel restrictions
The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has called for removal of HIV/AIDS travel restrictions. Currently 74 countries, including the US, have some form of HIV/AIDS travel restriction.
UNAIDS said:
HIV-related travel restrictions
have no public health justification…(W)here such restrictions are based
on HIV status alone, they are discriminatory. There is no need to single out HIV for specific consideration as an exclusion criterion. All comparable health conditions should be treated alike in terms of any concerns about potential economic costs relating to the health care of the individual involved. Valid human rights or humanitarian claims, such as asylum or family reunification, should override cost concerns. Where deportation does occur in relation to HIV status, confidentiality of medical information should be maintained and due process provided in accordance with international human rights law.
