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Sebelius Must Act Swiftly to Lift HIV Travel Ban upon Confirmation

US is one of only 14 nations that bar entry of people living with HIV or require disclosure for short-term stays

For Immediate Release

(Cambridge, Mass.) Physicians for Human Rights urges Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Kathleen Sebelius to act swiftly to lift the nation's HIV travel ban on people living with HIV.

Said Pat Daoust, RN, MSN, Director of PHR's Health Action AIDS campaign, "The restrictions denying people living with HIV entry into the United States violate their human rights and place the US among a group of only nine nations that bar entry of those with HIV for any reason or length of time. Congress lifted the statutory ban last summer and now the Obama Administration must finish the job by removing HIV from the list of communicable diseases that prevent entry into the country. It is far past time for the US to join the community of nations whose HIV entry policies are rooted in sound public health practices rather than bigotry and hysteria."

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.

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