Travel restrictions PLHA stories

[Guest guest]

May 5, 2008

Dear Task Team colleagues:

As one of the outputs of the International Task Team on HIV-related

Travel, a rapid desk review is underway to examine the impact of HIV-related

travel restrictions.

Where possible, the review will focus on studies published in scientific

journals, with searches carried out through documentation sources such as

PubMed and Google Scholar. But we already know that there is very little

information available through these sources.

Alternative sources of information will be extremely important for this review

of the impact of HIV travel restrictions, thus our call to you.

This is a wide-ranging call for information. We are looking for:

- relevant research or project

reports

- grey literature (unpublished,

but relevant research)

- press reports/articles on

travel restrictions

- anything you think might

relate to the impact of either short- or long-term restrictions on people with

HIV crossing international borders.

We are seeking information about the impact/effects of such restrictions on:

· Human rights: the human

rights arguments have been relatively well developed concerning HIV-related

travel restrictions, but what evidence is there? What abuses have been documented?

Is there evidence that such restrictions add to stigma and

discrimination?

· Public health: is there

evidence that travel restrictions drive people underground, thus hindering

access to testing and to treatment?

· Potential cost: what studies

have been carried out concerning the costs of HIV testing at entry, or of the

costs of potential for treatment of non-nationals with HIV-related diseases?

Outputs from the review, which will be available to the Task Team,

are to include a data base that will list (depending on the amount of

information that appears) all or selected references, and an

annotated bibliography of the most relevant and significant items. A brief

report will discuss the key findings, and also the challenges and

gaps concerning the impact of restrictions on short term travel and on long

term travel. This report is to be submitted to the task force for review before

finalization. Please note that for this review published sources will be

privileged, followed by information that is publicly accessible.

However information clearly marked as such can be kept confidential if

necessary: any details published can always be masked to protect individuals.

Timing of the review is extremely tight as we aim to produce a draft report in

time for the next Task Team meeting 24-26 June.

We thus request your input by Tuesday May 13 at the latest, and if at all

possible by Friday May 9.

This call for information is deliberately wide-ranging. The review

is to establish a first data base: what is ‘out there’? This

brings us to one final request: apart from Task Force members, who else should

be contacted? What other agencies or individuals might also have information or

insights concerning the impact of HIV-related travel restrictions?

Please send documents, information, suggestions, comments to Mamadou Diallo

at Mamadou.dialloiasociety (DOT) org.

Ron MacInnis

Director, Policy and Programmes

IAS - International AIDS Society

Chemin de l'Avanchet 33

PO Box

20

CH-1216 Cointrin

Geneva, Switzerland

roniasociety (DOT) org

Main number: +41 22 710 08 00

Mobile:

(+41) 79 303 2184

www.iasociety.org

Cross posted: ITPC

Forwarded by:

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