| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
July 1, 2009
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Media Contacts:
Krishna Stone, GMHC, 212-367-1016
GMHC commends the Obama-Biden Administration and HHS for proposing end to HIV entry bar
Ending of HIV entry bar would strengthen public health, GMHC says
Washington, DC — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking a critical step toward finally lifting the 22-year-old bar preventing HIV-positive individuals from legally entering the U.S. HHS is expected this week to propose an amendment to regulationsthat will remove HIV from a list of "communicable diseases of public health significance." HHS is also proposing an end to mandatory HIV testing of people seeking to enter the country. Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, the public has 45 days to comment on the proposed rule changes.
The HIV entry ban undermines public health in the U.S. by discouraging people from coming forward to get tested or access treatment. It is also based on the false premise that foreigners bringing HIV into the U.S. are a major cause of HIV infection. In fact, studies show that most immigrants who become HIV-positive contract HIV after they enter the U.S. GMHC also opposes this policy because it reinforces HIV stigma and violates human rights. It prevents the U.S. from being eligible to host large international conferences and trainings which would boost the country's economy.
The government's move to repeal the regulation started under President George W. Bush and former Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. A 1993 law preventing HIV-positive people from entering the U.S. was repealed in July 2008 by Congress and President Bush. But for the entry ban to be fully repealed the regulatory change that HHS will propose must also be made.
"We commend President Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for proposing a change that will benefit public health and HIV prevention," said Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men's Health Crisis. "GMHC strongly supports the proposed rule change, and encourages HHS to make the change as soon as possible."
GMHC has led the fight to repeal the U.S. HIV entry bar since the regulation's inception in 1987. Last year, GMHC and members of the Coalition to Lift the Bar hosted public fora on the entry bar at the United Nations High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in New York City and at the International AIDS Conference in Mexico City.
Repealing the U.S. HIV entry bar is a pressing issue. As recently as May 22nd 2009, 60 HIV-positive Canadian delegates to the North American Housing and HIV/AIDS Research Summit in Washington, D.C. were barred from entering the United States.
Currently, the U.S. is one of only 14 countries that ban people living with HIV from even short-term visits. Other countries with similar policies include Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Brunei, Sudan and Egypt. Lifting the HIV entry ban does not automatically grant permission for HIV-positive foreigners to enter the country or adjust their status if already here. Instead, it allows people living with HIV to complete the same complicated and arduous applications for changes in immigration status as everyone else. The rule change would end the categorical exclusion of people living with HIV from consideration for traveling or immigrating to the US.
For more on the U.S. HIV entry bar, please click here to read the 2009 GMHC report, "Undermining Public Health and Human Rights: The United States HIV Travel and Immigration Ban."
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Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC) is a not-for-profit, volunteer-supported and community-based organization committed to national leadership in the fight against AIDS. We provide prevention and care services to more than 15,000 men, women and families that are living with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS in New York City, and advocate for scientific, evidence-based public health solutions for hundreds of thousands worldwide.
© 2009 Gay Men's Health Crisis |
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