HIV related restrictions on entry, residence and stay in the WHO European Region: a survey

Jeffrey V. Lazarus , Nadja Curth , Matthew Weait and Srdan Matic

Journal of the International AIDS Society 2010,
13:2doi:10.1186/1758-2652-13-2
http://www.jiasociety.org/content/13/1/2


Background
Back in 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that the screening of international travellers was an ineffective way to prevent the spread of HIV. However, some countries still restrict the entrance and/or residency of foreigners with an HIV infection. HIV-related travel restrictions have serious implications for individual and public health and violate internationally recognized human rights. In this study we reviewed the current situation regarding HIV-related travel restrictions in the 53 countries of the WHO European Region.

Methods
We retrieved the country specific information chiefly from the Global Database on HIV Related Travel Restrictions at hivtravel.org. We simplified and standardized the database information to enable us to create an overview and compare countries. Where data was outdated, unclear or contradictory, we contacted WHO HIV focal points in the countries or appropriate nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The United States Bureau of Consular Affairs website was also used to confirm and complement these data.

Results
Our review revealed that there are no entry restrictions for people living with HIV in 51 countries of the WHO European Region. In 11 countries (Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus (denied access for non-EU citizens)) Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) foreigners living with HIV applying for long-term stays will not be granted a visa. In Uzbekistan an HIV-positive foreigner can not even enter the country and in Georgia we were not able to determine whether there were any HIV-related travel restrictions due to a lack of information.

Conclusions
In 32% of the countries in the European Region, there are either some kind of HIV-related travel restrictions, or we were unable to determine if such restrictions are in force. Most of these countries defend restrictions as being justified by public health concerns. However, there is no evidence that denying HIV-positive foreigners access to a country is effective in protecting public health. Governments should revise legislation on HIV-related travel restrictions and in the meantime a joint effort is needed to draw attention to the continuing discrimination and stigmatization of PLHIV that takes place in the European Region where such laws and policies are still in force.

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