Search is Powered by Google
HIV / AIDS News

HIV/AIDS Should Not Be 'Barrier' To Peace Corps Service, Editorial Says

Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 07 May 2008 - 7:00 PST

email icon email to a friend   printer icon printer friendly   write icon view / write opinions   rate icon rate article


Current Article Ratings:

Patient / Public:3 stars

3 (2 votes)

Health Professional:not yet rated

Article Opinions: 0 posts

HIV/AIDS should not be a "barrier" to serving in the Peace Corps, a Washington Post editorial says in response to a recent article by Post columnist Stephen Barr about the organization's policy regarding HIV-positive volunteers (Washington Post, 5/6).

According to Barr, Jeremiah Johnson, a former volunteer in Ukraine, recently was discharged by the agency after he was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Johnson discovered that he is HIV-positive in January during a scheduled medical exam that took place in Ukraine's capital of Kiev. Johnson said that a few days after the test results came back positive, the Peace Corps' Ukraine country director told him to return to Washington, D.C., because Ukrainian law prevents HIV-positive people from working in the country.

After returning to the district, Johnson in February had another medical exam and was given a "medical separation" from the Peace Corps, according to Barr. The agency on the separation notice said that it had determined the "resolution of [Johnson's] condition(s) will take longer than the maximum-allowable 45 days" and that Johnson "would be medically unable to perform [his] volunteer assignment."

According to Johnson, the Peace Corps' decision to end his assignment violates federal anti-discrimination laws. He was referred to the American Civil Liberties Union, which recently wrote to the agency's director, Ronald Tschetter. Peace Corps Press Director Amanda Beck said that Tschetter plans to respond to ACLU (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 4/29).

Although Beck has said that the Peace Corps does not have a policy of "automatically excluding people with HIV," the "fact remains" that Johnson was "booted from the Peace Corps because of his diagnosis," the editorial says. In addition, while Ukraine's policies regarding HIV-positive workers are "misguided and discriminatory, they cannot excuse the U.S. government," according to the Post. HIV "should not be a barrier to public service," the editorial says, adding, "Making it so, as in Mr. Johnson's case, is a waste of talent and goodwill." The editorial concludes that with all of the Peace Corps' "work in dealing with HIV/AIDS around the world, the agency should know that" (Washington Post, 5/6).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.




Personalized Homepage Weekly Newsletters Daily News Alerts
Opioid Induced Constipation ADHD Anxiety Asthma Autism Cancer Diabetes Lung Cancer Lupus Medicare / Medicaid Obesity and BMI Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells All 'What Is...' Articles All 'How To...' Articles

Ophthalmology Urology
About Us News Licensing Free Website Feeds Free Tools & Content Tell a Friend Accessibility Help / FAQ Article Submission Links Contact Us

add medical news today to your facebook
medical news gadget

Swine Flu Image

Swine Flu Updates

- Latest Swine Flu News
- What is Swine Flu?
- Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks
- Swine Flu - Top 20 FAQ
- Daily Email News Alerts
Stick with Medical News Today for the latest news updates on swine flu.


These are the most read articles from this news category for the last 6 months:
Top Article Star
Sex Workers In Pakistan Give Recommendations On HIV Prevention To Health Officials
19 May 2009
Although the recorded HIV prevalence in Pakistan is relatively low, health officials are concerned that a concentrated epidemic of the virus among injection drug users could carry over to commercial sex workers and other...


Talking with Your Doctor image Talking with Your Doctor

Talking with your doctor can sometimes be difficult. Good health care, however, depends on an open dialogue between patients and doctors...

Keeping a Personal Medical Record image Keeping a Personal Medical Record

Medical information is usually scattered in many different places. To receive the best possible health care, people are encouraged to gather information in one place and create a personal medical record...

View more videos...