Report details travel and immigration restrictions on people living with HIV/AIDS

A new report published by Human Rights Watch sheds light on the many frustrating travel and migration restrictions placed on people living with HIV and AIDS by governments of nearly one third of the world’s countries. As described in the report, these restrictions fall into two general categories: the refusal to allow HIV-positive individuals to enter a country at all for any length of time, and the allowance of HIV-positive individuals to enter a country but not to stay for longer lengths of time.

There are a number of arguments as to why these restrictions are detrimental to public health efforts, not least of which is a reinforcement of stigma related to people living with HIV/AIDS.

To read the full report, “Descrimination, Denial, and Deportation,” please visit Human Rights Watch.

-Until There’s A Cure

Updates in Health, HIV Awareness

- FDA approval for a second-generation female condom, considered to be a boost in the fight against HIV in developing nations

- Congratulations to AIDS Walk New York and Gay Men’s Health Crisis for raising a record-breaking amount of corporate sponsorship for this year’s annual event.

- Gilead Sciences, a leader in HIV research and medical therapies, has purchased CV Therapeutics, which develops small-molecule drugs used to treat cardiovascular diseases. About Gilead and CV:
“Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide. Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead has operations in North America, Europe and Australia.
“CV Therapeutics, Inc., headquartered in Palo Alto, California, is a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on applying molecular cardiology to the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, small molecule drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. CV Therapeutics Europe Ltd. is the company’s European subsidiary based in the United Kingdom.” –CV Therapeutics

- In Uganda, the Ministry of Health has announced an initiative to place nearly 50,000 more people on anti-retroviral therapy. The Ministry:

recommended that anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment should start when the CD4 count of adults is less than 250, instead of 200 as has been the case, Sam Zaramba, the director-general of Health Services, said in a statement.

-Until There’s A Cure

National HIV/AIDS Strategy in the U.S.

The United States has had a strategy for dealing with the AIDS crisis on a global level for a number of years — PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief. PEPFAR is an international program headed by an “AIDS czar,” which is a State Department position that currently enjoys an ambassador’s rank. Although this program has been hailed as a dramatic success story overseas, and has enjoyed many victories in the fight to curb HIV transmission, the United States does not have an internal strategy to deal with the AIDS crisis. The United States needs a domestic, national, and comprehensive AIDS strategy.

Given that AIDS is now the leading cause of death among black women between 25 and 34, and that in one American city, Washington, D.C., 1 in 20 residents is HIV-positive, this is a national imperative.

The Obama campaign, in August 2008, wrote into the Democratic Party Platform a commitment to implementing a national AIDS strategy: the new President has made a commitment to crafting a strategy to deal with the presence of HIV/AIDS at a national policy level. We wholeheartedly support this effort, and know that ensuring a national AIDS strategy will be beneficial for those who seek to develop a vaccine to cure HIV, those who care for AIDS patients, and those who strive to prevent new infections every day.

The difficulty in enacting this strategy is immense: federal, state, and local authorities will need to work together to ensure that programs are effectively and efficiently delivered. Beyond the implementation of services, policy towards basic research and the funding of awareness education must be addressed. [Many people are not aware that university researchers' time is often spent attempting to find funding sources rather than performing that research itself. A true victory for vaccine development can only be achieved if the national strategy emphasizes science and enabling scientists.]

Until There’s A Cure is hopeful that the new administration will push for comprehensive AIDS policy and strategy in the United States — without diminishing the enormous good that PEPFAR has achieved around the world. Without a comprehensive national policy to deal with HIV/AIDS, true success in the fight against this disease will remain elusive.

-Until There’s A Cure