Aids travel curbs criticised

The United Nations joint programme on HIV/Aids has called for the 52 countries that still impose entry restrictions on HIV-infected people to repeal those controls.

Twenty-three countries have a policy of compulsory deportation for anybody discovered to be HIV positive, while five countries deny HIV-infected people visas even for short stays.

At a meeting in Bangkok, Michel Sidibe, who heads the UN HIV/Aids programme, known as Unaids, said that travel restrictions are not justified by public health considerations and amount to denial of human rights.

Singapore is one of the nations that still impose entry restrictions for HIV-infected people.

But, as Laura Kyle reports, these restrictions have not only failed to prevent a rise in HIV cases in Singapore, they have made life extremely difficult for those with the disease.(source: www.english.aljazeera.net)