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Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) from
40 companies are asking countries to eliminate laws that restrict the travel of
individuals with HIV, because such laws are discriminatory and detrimental to
the global economy, in which companies have to be free to send employees around
the world. Business leaders who agreed with the change in policy include the
CEOs of Coca-Cola, Aetna, Viacom, Pfizer, the National Basketball Association,
Johnson & Johnson, and Gap.
According to UNAIDS, 45 countries
have laws or policies that deport, detain, or deny entry to persons with HIV.
Five countries in the Middle East refuse entry to people with HIV, and another
five—including Singapore, Egypt, and the Turks and Caicos—require anyone who
plans to remain in the country longer than five days to provide evidence that
they are not infected with the HIV virus. The United States regulations barring
HIV-infected foreign nationals from receiving a visa to enter the country were
lifted in January 2010. The restrictions were introduced in 1987, when HIV was
added to the list of diseases of public health significance. Foreign nationals
requesting a visa to enter the United States were tested for HIV during medical
screening by US immigration.
Many of these laws and policies were
made in the 1980s when HIV was first publicly known and resulted from a
combination of transmission myths, fears that it could not be treated, and the
lack of a reliable test to diagnose it. All these factors have now changed.
Bertil Lindblad, of UNAIDS in New York, stated that many of the reactions arose
from fear about HIV, stigma, and discrimination. However, in some countries,
the disease is considered a social evil, and in places, it is part of a larger
human rights issue, the illegality of homosexuality.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
