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.