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News/Event Item
U.S. Agency Moves Closer to Lifting Ban on Admitting Foreign Travelers with HIV
July 1, 2009
By Howard Lesser
The U.S. congressional reauthorization of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, in July, 2008, lifted a 15-year ban on HIV-positive foreign nationals from entering the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated the final regulatory steps toward halting implementation of the ban.
Executive Director Rachel B. Tiven of New York-based Immigration Equality says that yesterday’s action was a positive development, and that the ban, which has until now continued to classify HIV as a communicable disease that warrants exclusion from US life, is expected to be fully lifted by December.
"This is the penultimate step, but it is not the end of the road. Until the 45-day notice and comment period is concluded, and until after that, the new regulation is finally published, it will not take effect. We expect, and we hope, and we will be monitoring the implementation of the final regulation, which we hope will happen before the end of the year," she said.
© 2009 Voice of America
For full article, visit:
http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-07-01-voa2.cfm
category: News from Other Sources : AIDS News
contributed by Liza Nanni on 1 July 2009
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