US eases travel restriction on HIV patients

  1. Posted on Tuesday 5 January 2010 - 11:50
    Sanday
    Image of Sanday
    Sanday Chongo Kabange, AfricaNews reporter in Lusaka, Zambia
    The United States government has with immediate effect started allowing people living with AIDS to enter that country. This came as a great source of relief for most Africans living with the disease but have not been able to travel to that country.
    Obama in Ghana
    People living with AIDS were until January 4 not allowed to enter the U.S, a move that has attracted widespread criticism from human rights organizations worldwide.

    But President Obama’s administration announced it was lifting the ban effective Monday January 4, 2010. The announcement was welcomed by organizations such as the International AIDS Society (IAS) which intends to hold its biannual AIDS Conference in this year in Vienna, Austria in July.

    “It’s a good sign but it was long over due. The US should know that we are all humans and such disease can affect anyone,” Dr Abena Pobie told AfricaNews in Accra.

    A noticed posted on the US Embassy website in Lusaka reads:

    “The Department of State has announced that from January 4, 2010 HIV Infection will be removed from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance. This means that HIV infection will no longer be an inadmissible condition. HIV-positive applicants who are otherwise qualified and traveling to the United States on or after January 4 will no longer require a waiver of ineligibility before a visa can be issued. Immigrant visa applicants will no longer be required to undergo HIV testing as part of the immigrant visa medical examination process as of January 4”.

    The removal of HIV infection from the list of communicable diseases restricting people living with HIV from entering the US comes at a time the international community is trying to tighten up their security system.

    This follows the recent shocking incident in which a 23 year-old Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, wanted to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day.

Latest News

  1. AFCON: 46 hurt in Zambia victory celebrations09/02Over 40 casualty cases were recorded Wednesday night at Zambia's University Teaching Hospital (UTH) after post-match celebrations turned violent …
  2. African Peer Review Mechanism making progress08/02In 2003 the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continental development plan, initiated the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM…
  3. Combating HIV infections among African women08/02With a lack of knowledge and power, African women continue to bear the brunt of HIV infections.
  4. Legume cultivation booms in Western Kenya07/02Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) who traditionally relied on seed companies for all their seeds are now bulking their own legume seeds for their farms.
  5. Malawi vendors chase out Chinese07/02Vendors in Kalonga, the Northern district of Malawi, on Wednesday petitioned the District Commissioner to flash out all Chinese nationals who are doin…
  6. Zim: Informal sector urged to join HIV battle05/02While the Harare City council is busy engaging in running battles with city vendors, Health Minister has called for authorities to devise ways to form…
  7. Elections: Wole Soyinka warns Mugabe, Wade03/02The Nigerian Nobel Prize winner for literature said heads of states who are trying to cling to power suffer the same fate as the dictators who were sw…
  8. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  9. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  10. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  11. AFCON 2012: Sudan qualifies after four decades31/01The Sudanese national team has sealed a historic win over the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
  12. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  13. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  14. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  15. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
News archive