Guest Column: World AIDS Day

For almost three years, I have been writing with disdain about the ineffective and counterproductive international and domestic HIV and AIDS policies adopted by the U.S. government. However, with World AIDS Day being today, my message for this year is full of hope.

Yes, hope - partially due to my faith that the administration of President-elect Barack Obama (D) will mean positive changes in the issues that I care about, but mostly because after eight years of bad policies, hope is all I have left.

Over the years, I have advocated for increased funding for international family planning programs, which are desperately needed to ease the burden of maternal and infant mortality. I have fought for the repeal of the anti-prostitution loyalty oath, a policy that forces national and international health groups that receive U.S. funding to denounce prostitution as a condition for receiving those funds, even when their mission is to work on HIV prevention among sex workers. I have battled Congress to eliminate the earmark in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief that required countries to use one-third of their prevention funds for abstinence-until-marriage programs. And most recently, I have worked to abolish the HIV travel ban that prevents non-citizens living with HIV from traveling to the United States.

The past two years showed minor shifting in these policies. International family planning programs received a small increase, the funding requirement for abstinence-until-marriage programs was loosened (but only slightly) and the HIV travel ban was removed under the PEPFAR's reauthorization.

However, the anti-prostitution loyalty oath still stands - though it was ruled unconstitutional for groups in the United States, it still applies for those outside this nation. The new "abstinence - be faithful" funding requirements still make it difficult for countries to use their prevention dollars in a comprehensive prevention strategy. And the HIV travel ban has not been completely repealed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

So, as this year's World AIDS Day comes and goes, I hope the new inhabitants of the White House and the 111th Congress will expand the small victories into positive policies that will make a difference. I hope that some day in the near future, all individuals will have access to all the information and resources they need to make healthy choices - regardless of their lifestyle choices, sexual orientation or gender identity. I hope that some day science - not ideology - will dictate policy. I hope that some day soon, U.S. travel restrictions will not be based on HIV status. And I sure do hope that one of these days, when this ban is lifted, the United States will become a host country to the International AIDS Conference.

Nickie Babayeva is a senior art history and economics major. She can be reached at nbabayev@gmail.com.