AIDS Committee supports free movement of people living with disease

The Guyana National AIDS Committee (NAC) has signaled its support to the decision by President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, to remove restrictions on people infected with HIV from visiting the United States.
Along with a range of other organizations around the world, NAC members have added their signatures to many petitions over the years for this unjustified restriction to be removed.
A press statement from NAC, on Monday, stated that in 2007, a delegation from the NAC met with the American Ambassador to query HIV testing taking place in the Embassy compound of persons applying for visas to the United States.
The NAC was assured at the time that the rapid-testing at the embassy did not relate to any misguided goal of only accepting HIV free immigrants.
The NAC is hopeful that the leadership demonstrated by the US Government on this issue will encourage the remaining countries which have retained similar restrictions to remove them quickly.
“Apart from respect for the rights of those directly affected, namely HIV-positive persons wishing to visit the United States, today’s decision will also help undermine stigma and discrimination in general against HIV positives, enabling greater tolerance and respect for difference,” the NAC statement noted.
NAC is a voluntary body which promotes HIV/AIDS policy and advocacy issues and advises the Minister of Health, while it assesses the work of the National AIDS
Programme Secretariat (NAPS).
The NAC also encourages the formation of Regional AIDS Committees (RACs) and networking amongst NGOs involved in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.