The rise of policies to support people with disabilities and HIV

Several significant policy efforts related to this field have taken place or are underway.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which came into force in 2008, has generated much interest in issues of disability [1]. In 2009, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released the Disability and HIV Policy Brief [21].

Also in 2009, the Government of Canada convened an international policy dialogue exploring the intersection of HIV and disability [81]. Country-level policies to support people with disabilities are at different stage of development. In Africa, for example, some countries have included disability within their national strategic frameworks or plans, although they are of different depths (e.g., Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa).

Regional bodies, like the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum is preparing an HIV/AIDS model law to act as a framework for countries in the region, although it is yet to be seen how well it addresses issues of disability.

Jill Hanass-Hancock and Stephanie A Nixon

Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD), University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto, Canada, and Research Associate, HEARD, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Journal of the International AIDS Society 2009, 2:3 doi:10.1186/1758-2652-2-3
Jill Hanass-Hancock (hanasshj@ukzn.ac.za)
Stephanie A Nixon (stephanie.nixon@utoronto.ca)

References

1. United Nations: UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities. 2008. [http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150]
2. Brashers DE, Neidig JL, Cardillo LW, Dobbs LK, Russell JA, Haas SM: "In an important way, I did die': uncertainty and revival in persons living with HIV or AIDS. AIDS Care 1999, 11:201-219.
3. Nokes KM: Revisiting how the chronic illness trajectory framework can be applied to persons living with HIV/AIDS. Scholarly Inquiry for Nursing Practice 1998, 12:27-31.
4. Philips A, O'Dell MW, Mills B: Comprehensive guide for the care of persons with HIV disease: Module 7-HIV rehabilitation services. Ottawa, Canada: Health Canada; 1998.
5. World Health Organization (WHO): International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health Geneva: WHO, [http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/] 2001.
6. Nixon S, Cott C: Shifting perspectives: reconceptualizing HIV disease in a rehabilitation framework. Physiotherapy Canada 2000, 52:189–197.