US: Lawsuit filed to block Idaho law restricting access to HIV treatment for Immigrants

BOISE — On Thursday, June 26, 2025, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Idaho, the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), and private law firms Nixon Peabody LLP and Ramirez-Smith Law filed a lawsuit against the state of Idaho to stop enforcement of House Bill 135, which is set to go into effect July 1, 2025.

House Bill 135 was passed during the 2025 legislative session to impose new immigration status verification requirements on programs that are not restricted under federal laws, including access to food pantries and soup kitchens, prenatal and postnatal care, vaccines and life-saving medications to treat communicable diseases such as HIV, among others. Prior to the new law, these benefits were available to Idaho residents without having to verify immigration status.

The lawsuit, Davids v. Adams, is seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the state from barring access to federally funded HIV medication for immigrants who cannot verify their lawful presence. The TRO is necessary because the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which administers the federal funding, has determined that on and after July 1, 2025, recipients of this funding must meet the lawful presence criteria outlined in the law. Without access to this medication, many immigrant residents will suffer a variety of serious health issues, including, potentially, death.

The plaintiffs in Davids v. Adams are Dr. Abby Davids, a doctor who treats patients living with HIV, and five immigrant Idahoans living with HIV.

The lawsuit argues that House Bill 135 attempts to circumvent federal law, which allows access to certain federally funded benefits programs, including the federal program that provides HIV medication (known as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program), without regard to citizenship or immigration status.

“Nobody benefits from barring access to life-saving HIV medication,” said Dr. Abby Davids, practitioner at Full Circle Health. “Both for individual patients and for the health of our community as a whole, all people living with HIV need to be able to access consistent care and treatment. Infections like HIV do not infect people based on their immigration status, and treatment should not be limited by legal status, either. I am genuinely afraid for my patients who currently take medication for HIV; without it, their lives will be in jeopardy.”

“HB 135 is designed to dehumanize our immigrant neighbors by denying them the basic necessities of life — medicine, food, and shelter. It subverts constitutional rights and interferes with federal regulation of immigration,” said Paul Carlos Southwick, ACLU of Idaho Legal Director. “Along with HB 83, this is the second unconstitutional bill we’ve sued to stop this year. It is part of the state’s campaign to displace immigrant residents, which will separate families and inflict lasting trauma. The state’s actions are legally indefensible and morally wrong.”

“This inhumane bill unconstitutionally seeks to block full public access to essential health care, including life-saving HIV care and treatment, and threatens the health and wellbeing of Idahoans across the state,” said Joanna Cuevas Ingram, senior staff attorney at the National Immigration Law Center. “Federal law has expressly exempted the Ryan White HIV AIDS Program, among others, from citizenship and immigration status requirements, ensuring that vulnerable individuals are not denied life-saving care due to their immigration status and to meet nationwide public health goals in reducing HIV transmission. H.B. 135 cannot subvert federal law or the will of Congress. A restraining order and injunction are necessary.”

“The message to immigrant and Latine communities is clear: No matter what kind of person you are, no matter how meaningfully you contribute to Idaho, no matter how hard you struggle to support your family, you are not wanted here,” said Ruby Mendez-Mota, ACLU of Idaho Interim Advocacy Director. “This law isn’t about safety or security, it’s not about limited resources; it’s about making an already vulnerable part of Idaho’s hardworking community feel like they aren’t good enough to be treated with dignity. This fight is not over.”

 

France: Young man with HIV detained without treatment faces expulsion, despite years of residency

For two months, the 23-year-old man has been detained at the CRA in Cornebarrieu (Haute-Garonne), where he has not received his HIV treatment. The associations are asking for a reassessment of his file. Politis was able to reach him.

His voice is weakened, almost inaudible. He seems exhausted. Joes arrived in France at the age of 11, then was adopted by his grandmother. He has 22 today. All his life is here. He went to college and then high school in the North, did two years of art school and then multiplied odd jobs, in catering and sales. In the meantime, he learns that he has HIV. He should have filed his birth certificate at the age of 18 to be officially regularized but he forgot and then covid-19 arrived and the administrations remained closed. He receives an OQTF (obligation to leave French territory).

“I didn’t really take it seriously. Instead of challenging her, I preferred to work, keep a low profile, thinking that things would work out, “says the young man. “If my birth certificate had been filed, they could have registered me in the civil registry and I would be French. From there, everything degrades. The man, detained at the administrative detention center (CRA) in Cornebarrieu, near Toulouse, was to be expelled by plane on Monday, June 23 to his country of origin in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A country he doesn’t know.

International aid stopped

To avoid being sent back, Cimade advised him to apply for asylum as a matter of urgency to the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra). The aim was to re-evaluate his case. A new element was added, as Julie Aufaure, in charge of detention at Cimade, explains: “Care for people with HIV in the DRC is a little better than it used to be. But doubts have returned with the decision by the United States to withdraw its international aid, particularly on health issues”.

More and more foreign nationals living with HIV are being refused entry to the country.It was the Pepfar programme (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which financed a very large part of access to treatment in developing countries – particularly the DRC – with almost 54%. However, “this decision is not yet measurable, but there are major concerns on the ground. And the professionals in the field know that this is going to become a real problem very, very quickly”, continues Julie Aufaure.

This concern is shared by Adrien Cornec, head of mission for the AIDS charity Aides. He explains that France has had a right to residence on medical grounds since 1990. “But for some years now, the authorities have been calling it into question. We’re seeing more and more foreign nationals living with HIV being refused residence. In particular, people who have been refused residency following applications for renewal. In other words, people who have been here for several years.

He adds: “From one day to the next, these people find themselves in an irregular situation, obliged to leave French territory and go to a country where they haven’t lived for long and are not guaranteed access to care.

“We were rejected everywhere”

Julie Aufaure admits that Joes’ situation is complicated. “We’ve been rejected everywhere, unfortunately, because the prefectural authorities and the European Court of Human Rights base their decision on the decision of the Office’s doctor, who says that the treatment exists.

Joes, for his part, ‘hopes from the bottom of his heart’ for a positive response from Ofpra. Especially as he has been subjected to mockery in the detention centre since his arrival on 6 April. Medical confidentiality has been broken. He has been subjected to ‘moral and physical harassment’ by both ‘officers and detainees’. According to him, the detention centre officers spread the information to everyone in the centre. Some felt sorry for them, others laughed. His fellow detainee added that this stigmatisation was recurrent.

Apart from his roommate, with whom he talks, the young man has withdrawn into himself. “It’s still really a wolf’s world here. I prefer to be on my own. People can fight over a piece of bread or a cigarette. It’s a disgrace”, says Joes.

Worse still, he says he has never received his treatment since his arrest. When he arrived, he had a blood test and a check-up a fortnight later. But since then, radio silence. ‘They nearly put me on the plane, in this state, without me having had the treatment…’. As he is HIV-positive, it is essential that he takes his medication every day. The absence of treatment can have serious effects on his health, such as a drop in his immunity, making him extremely vulnerable to other illnesses. According to the Cimade employee, this is a case that ‘borders on the legal’, but she assures us that the procedure is long and going well.

Action still possible

If the asylum application is rejected or deemed inadmissible, Julie Aufaure plans to lodge an appeal with the national court for the right of asylum (CNDA) and ask the administrative court to suspend the deportation until the court has made its decision, but ‘that’s pretty much the last option for him’, she says.

Adrien Cornec says he is very concerned about ‘these refusals of residence and their accommodations’. Aides and the other associations are calling for the application of the decree of 5 January 2017, which states that ‘in all developing countries, it is therefore not yet possible to consider that HIV-positive people can have access to antiretroviral treatment or to the medical care required for all carriers of an HIV infection as soon as they are diagnosed’.

The Aides representative alerted Senator Anne Souyris. The ecologist sent letters to the prefects of the Pyrenees and Haute-Garonne, and also directly to the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau. “We don’t expel people who can’t be treated in their own country. There’s a political issue behind it”, she told Politis.

According to the senator, this is a real ‘death sentence’ for Joes, given that international funding has stopped. The senator goes further than the individual case and calls for all the people who could be affected to be automated: “There should be a circular (…). This should also be a textbook case for managing this situation.

US: LGBTQ migrants with HIV face systemic failures and neglect in U.S. custody

Queer, Undocumented and HIV Positive

The current political climate is making immigrants feel unwelcome in America.

Immigration continues to be a hot-button issue in the United States. Whether they are seeking asylum from a violent region of the world or coming here for a better life for your family, immigrants (specifically non-white immigrants) face a host of challenges.

LGBTQ immigrants living with HIV, face downright Sisyphean challenges. Undocumented people can’t access any health services without paying out of pocket, which can be monumentally expensive. Even if they are welcomed at a clinic, it’s possible that no one there will be able to speak their language or understand their culture. And currently, there’s the added risk that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers may be staking out the place.

If an LGBTQ person and/or a person living with HIV is taken to jail, it’s very likely that they’ll suffer abuse. A 2024 study published by Immigration Equality, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) and Human Rights First reports that ICE and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents at detention centers regularly abuse queer people and people living with HIV who are in their custody.

The study reported that one third of the participants experienced sexual, physical and mental abuse and sexual harassment, while nearly all reported incidents of verbal abuse and threats of violence. A quarter of the participants in the study reported being separated from loved ones, whether a partner, a spouse or sibling, and half of those in the study were kept in solitary confinement. Many had to scramble to find legal representation and sometimes were denied access to their attorney.

Most detainees also stated that they were given inadequate medical care or denied care altogether. Of the detainees living with HIV, most reported neglect or denial of HIV care. Nearly half reported suffering mental health problems, including panic attacks, flashbacks and self-harm. More than half stated that their HIV status, gender identity, sexual orientation, medical or other confidential information was disclosed without their consent.

More disturbing is the fact that many of those immigrants came here seeking amnesty, fleeing violence or other harsh ramifications in their homeland for simply being queer or because they’re living with HIV.

People living with HIV who are trying to emigrate to the United States cannot be denied entry based on their HIV status. (In 2010, President Obama lifted the “HIV ban” that had been in effect for 22 years.) Also, no one can be denied entry solely based on their sexual or gender identity.

As U.S. HIV and LGBTQ communities strive to keep healthy and safe, they must also remember those who need extra protection and care. Our arms must be big enough to hold fast to those who are extra vulnerable.

US: Doctors report dangerous delays in care among migrants fearing deportation

Since President Trump announced plans for mass deportations and rescinded protections for hospitals and clinics, health care facilities have seen a jump in no-shows.

A man lay on a New York City sidewalk with a gun shot wound, clutching his side.

Emily Borghard, a social worker who hands out supplies to the homeless through her nonprofit, found him and pulled out her phone, preparing to dial 911. But the man begged her not to make the call, she said.

“No, no, no,” he said, telling her in Spanish that he would be deported.

Ms. Borghard tried to explain that federal law required hospitals to treat him, regardless of his immigration status, but he was terrified.

“He said, ‘If I go to the emergency department, that will put me on their radar,’” she recalled in an interview recounting the incident.

Across the country, doctors, nurses and social workers are increasingly concerned that people with serious medical conditions, including injuries, chronic illnesses and high-risk pregnancies, are forgoing medical care out of fear of being apprehended by immigration officials. Since the Trump administration announced plans for mass deportations and rescinded a Biden-era policy that protected spaces like hospitals, medical clinics and churches from immigration enforcement, doctors said they have seen sharp increases in patient anxiety and appointment no-show rates.

If the trend continues, health care officials say, the list of consequences could be long: Infectious diseases circulating unnecessarily; worsening health care costs because of untreated chronic illnesses; and dangerous birth complications for women who wait too long to seek help, among others.

In a survey conducted by KFF, a health policy research organization, 31 percent of immigrants said that worries about immigration status — their own or that of a family member — were negatively affecting their health. About 20 percent of all immigrants surveyed said they were struggling with their eating and sleeping; 31 percent reported worsened stress and anxiety.

A White House spokesman did not respond to messages seeking comment. When the administration announced that it was ending protections at hospitals on Jan. 21, a statement from the Department of Homeland Security said the new policy was intended “to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens.”

Research has shown that immigration crackdowns are linked with poorer birth outcomes and mental health status, lapses in care, and fewer people accessing the types of public programs that reduce illness and poverty overall.

“We’re really creating not just very serious health risks, but economic risks in the long run for our country,” said Julie Linton, a pediatrician and member of the committee on federal government affairs for the American Academy of Pediatrics. “These policies are creating very real fear and uncertainty for people and have a tremendous impact on their ability to function on a day-to-day level.”

Many immigrant communities suffer from high rates of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes, which, if left untreated, can lead to heart attack, stroke and other grave complications.

That is why doctors worry about patients like Maria, a 47-year-old woman with pre-diabetes, who has been going to the same primary care clinic ever since she arrived in the United States from El Salvador 20 years ago. Even during the first Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, she continued to seek medical care. But when the protections around hospitals and clinics were rescinded earlier this year, Maria canceled her appointment to have her blood sugar checked, a routine and crucial element of diabetes prevention in patients like her.

“We’re very scared of being in the clinic and having ICE arrive while waiting to be called,” she said in Spanish, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Maria, who asked that her last name not be published, said that she is in a state of “constant anguish.” She said she avoids leaving the house and is working on a plan for the care of her children, who are American citizens, in case she and her husband are deported.

One of their daughters, who is 15, is being treated for fatty liver disease and the other, 11, needs therapy for a developmental condition. Their older daughter has another doctor’s appointment in June. Maria and her husband don’t want to interrupt her care, but they are worried about taking her there themselves. “It’s very complicated,” Maria said. “I can put myself at risk for my children. But if it’s for my own health, I prefer to let it go.”

The consequences of abandoning regular medical care can turn serious quickly, however. Jim Mangia, president of St. John’s Community Health Network in Los Angeles, described one patient with diabetes who stopped showing up for a weekly diabetes education class. When a clinic staff member called the woman, they discovered she was afraid to even go to the grocery store, and had been subsisting for days on tortillas and coffee, he said.

“Thank God we reached her and she came in,” said Mr. Mangia, whose network serves an estimated 25,000 undocumented patients across more than 20 locations. Tests at the clinic showed that her blood sugar had become dangerously high.

“That’s what we’re going to see more and more of,” Mr. Mangia said. “It kind of breaks my heart to talk about it.”

For doctors working in urgent care settings, a drop-off in immigrants has become apparent through some unusual metrics. For example, Dr. Amy Zeidan, an emergency room physician in Atlanta, said that requests for Spanish-language interpretation in her hospital’s emergency department had fallen more than 60 percent from January to February.

Theresa Cheng, an emergency room physician at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, said one of her residents had seen an immigrant patient who had suffered multiple facial fractures from an assault, but had not sought care for more than two weeks. “There is tremendous fear,” Dr. Cheng said.

In late January, Dr. Cheng said, she saw a patient who arrived with severely untreated diabetes. The patient, an undocumented woman, said she had waited to receive help because she was scared. She died that day.

Dr. Carolina Miranda, a family physician in the Bronx, spoke of a patient who had been granted asylum but, fearful of ICE, had failed to show up for a doctor’s appointment about a possible brain tumor.

Similar delays or cancellations are arising among pregnant women and new mothers, according to obstetrician-gynecologists around the country. Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an obstetrician in Indiana, said a patient had skipped her postpartum visit, explaining that she would no longer be leaving her house. On an obstetrics floor in a San Diego hospital, multiple staff members said they had seen an overnight drop-off following the inauguration in the number of immigrant women coming in with acute issues during their pregnancies.

“Obviously those women still exist,” said one doctor, who asked not to be identified because her employer forbade her from speaking publicly on the matter. “I fear it’s going to increase maternal mortality over time.”

Many of the children of immigrant parents who have skipped appointments or left medications unfilled are American citizens. But in mixed-status families, parents who are at risk of deportation are often unwilling to take the risk of going to the clinic or pharmacy.

A pediatrician at a health center that cares for underserved populations on the central coast of California reported a 30 percent increase in no-shows for pediatric appointments. Many of those who do bring their children, and are referred elsewhere for specialty care, such as speech therapy, or an autism evaluation, refuse, saying they are too frightened, said the pediatrician, who asked to be unidentified because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Dr. Tania Caballero, a pediatrician at Johns Hopkins who sees patients at a health center for underserved groups called Baltimore Medical System, said she had encountered parents who had not wanted to go with their babies to the emergency room out of fear, and parents of children with chronic conditions like cerebral palsy, asthma, and Type 1 diabetes who had told her they have stopped getting vital care.

“I tell patients, ‘I can’t control what happens outside of my space, and I can’t control if somebody comes into my space, But you know me. I have the tools, and I want to help you navigate this journey and do it together,’” she said.

Some parents of children in other dire situations — such as those receiving cancer treatment — are hoping that their child’s condition might actually protect them. Some have asked pediatricians for letters explaining their child’s medical requirements, in hopes that immigration officials who detain them might be convinced that the child needs to stay in the United States to survive.

Dr. Lisa Gwynn, a pediatrician in South Florida who serves families from across the Caribbean and South America, said that her plummeting patient attendance rate is particularly worrisome because patients are missing out on childhood vaccines necessary for preventing diseases like measles, pneumonia and whooping cough.

Dr. Gwynn also worries that without coming to see her, children who have experienced severe trauma before coming to the United States aren’t being connected to social workers or psychologists who can help.

“Imagine your children living in a home where everyone’s scared, and they’ve come to this country to not feel scared anymore,” she said. “We know that stress does not fare well for health. Period. Kids don’t perform as well in school, they have mental health issues, depression, anxiety.”

Some medical facilities have said they will comply with immigration officials. NYU Langone, in New York City, sent a memo to employees warning them not to try to protect illegal migrants. But many other health centers and organizations are finding ways to take a stand, telling staff to display “Know Your Rights” information on the walls and to never record their immigration status in a patient’s medical records.”

Last week, the New England Journal of Medicine published an article by two doctors and a lawyer detailing how physicians can continue to provide health care and lawfully push back in the face of some ICE requests.

The St. John’s clinic network in Los Angeles recently launched an ambitious home visitation program in which a doctor, nurse and medical assistant visit patients where they live to perform exams and deliver medications. They aim to inform all 25,000 of their undocumented patients of this option.

In the New York area, a hospital association suggested designating a “hospital liaison” who can be paged to quickly usher an agent into a private office, and then ask to see a signed warrant, which would then be reviewed by in-house counsel.

At the emergency room of University Hospital, a safety net facility in Newark, staff members hand out cards, in Spanish and other languages, reminding patients of their rights. “You have the right to refuse consent for immigration or the police to search yourself, your car or your home,” the cards state.

But even there, the fear is palpable. Annalee M. Baker, an emergency physician, said she had seen a young woman who said her partner had beaten her until she was unconscious. Covered in welts and bruises, she had waited hours to come in. The reason given: she was terrified that her partner would be deported.

Dr. Baker also treated a minor who had been stabbed; she had needed his parents’ consent to treat him, but the boy had been skittish about providing any details about them, out of fear they might be caught in the immigration dragnet.

Still, it is the people who never come in at all that haunt Dr. Baker the most.

“The tragic message to these people is: Be a shadow and hope that you do not die.”

Sarah Kliff contributed reporting.

Emily Baumgaertner Nunn is a national health reporter for The Times, focusing on public health issues that primarily affect vulnerable communities.

Nina Agrawal is a Times health reporter.

Jessica Silver-Greenberg is a Times investigative reporter writing about big business with a focus on health care. She has been a reporter for more than a decade.

UAE: New Dubai regulations define traveler obligations and health responsibilities

Dubai’s new public health law could affect your next trip — here’s how

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, has issued a new public health law in Dubai.

Law No. (5) of 2025 on Public Health in Dubai seeks to minimise health risks by stopping the spread of illnesses and putting restrictions on travel for those with confirmed communicable diseases.

Set to come into force 90 days after it is published in the Official Gazette, the new law supersedes any previous legislation that may conflict with its provisions.

The new law states that any travellers must adhere to official health protocols, provide requested information at Dubai’s entry points and report any suspected or confirmed communicable diseases.

Anyone who is infected or suspected of having a communicable disease must avoid contact that could spread their illness. The new law states that you must refrain from travelling or moving, except to healthcare facilities, without the approval of the Dubai Health Authority.

If you are travelling while ill, then you must observe hygiene measures such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing in line with approved guidelines.

The law prohibits concealing infections or spreading them, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and mandates individuals to comply with measures to prevent the spread of disease, following guidelines issued by relevant authorities and healthcare providers.

The new public health law has established a comprehensive framework to promote public health and safeguard community and environmental well-being. It outlines a focus on disease prevention, healthcare, food and product safety and sustainable efforts to improve overall quality of life.

It aims to minimise any health risks affecting individuals and communities in Dubai through precautionary measures and evidence-based practices that align with both local and international health regulations.

The new law promotes greater coordination and collaboration at all levels to strengthen preparedness and response to deal with any public health challenges in the emirate.

It also aims to increase public awareness of health risks and prevention methods by fostering a sustainable environment that attracts investment.

The new public health law has also formally defined the roles and responsibilities of relevant authorities in managing communicable diseases.

These authorities include local government entities tasked with overseeing public health in Dubai, such as Dubai Health Authority, Dubai Municipality, the Dubai Environment and Climate Change Authority, the Dubai Academic Health Corporation and the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services.

The law has also outlined the responsibilities of relevant authorities in food safety, specified obligations for food-related establishments and set out some rules for consumer product activities.

It has detailed responsibilities in areas such as built environmental health, labour accommodations, pest control and the Dubai Health Authority‘s role in managing health risks, emergencies and crises.

Dominican Republic: New health protocol requires migrants to pay for care and face deportation after treatment

Rights group condemns Dominican Republic new health protocol for discriminating migrants.

Amnesty International condemned Thursday the Dominican Republic’s new health protocol that requires migrants to provide documentation and pay fees to access public health services. The group argued that the new protocol is discriminatory and may violate international human rights standards.

On April 6, the government announced a new health protocol consisting of 15 migration measures. Apart from requiring documentation and fees, a migrant patient who received medical care, relating to emergencies, hospitalization or childbirth, will be repatriated to their home country aftercare.

The group voiced strong concerns against the discriminatory policy, describing the protocol as “reinforcing racism in migration policies.” The group also argued that the practice threatens the right to health, privacy, and physical integrity, by deterring people at risk, especially pregnant women, children, and survivors of violence, from seeking the healthcare they urgently need. According to the group, the protocol violates the country’s own constitutional principle on free and universal access to health enjoyed by marginalizing migrants, undocumented Haitians, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and Dominicans of Haitian descent.

Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International, said:

President Luis Abinader must opt for measures that strengthen the health system. Implementing a system that exposes migrants to deportation after receiving medical care not only violates the right to health but also dehumanizes undocumented persons and will, in all probability, deter them from seeking hospital care, thus putting lives at risk.

Collective expulsion of aliens may amount to violations of multiple international conventions including the non-refoulement principle under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Convention against Torture. National laws on expulsion on the basis of national origin may also engage with the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

On April 21, Amnesty International issued an urgent action demanding an end to the collective expulsion of Haitian migrants and the repeal of discriminatory migration policies in the Dominican Republic, stating that “since October 2024, more than 180,000 people have been deported.” In their urgent action, Amnesty International urged the Dominican population to reject these cruel and racist measures by action.

Escalating gang violence in Haiti has prompted many Haitians to flee to the Dominican Republic. On April 22, UN Special Representative Maria Isabel Salvador warned the Security Council that the political chaos, gang violence and displacement that follows are “approaching a point of no return,” urging for stronger international intervention.

Canada: Montreal’s only anglophone HIV/AIDS care centre helps migrants living with HIV navigate their integration into the province

A path to new beginnings: migrants with HIV

Montreal’s only anglophone HIV/AIDS care centre supports newcomers beyond healthcare.

Colombian immigrant Ferney Mendoza sits in a warmly lit room watching a PowerPoint presentation at Montreal’s only anglophone and allophone HIV/AIDS support centre.

He is joined by four other newcomers on a ring of couches, with a spread of snacks in the centre.

The workshop is part of a three-month program designed to help migrants living with HIV navigate their integration into the province.

On the screen, Quebec is highlighted on a map of Canada and labelled with a bold “14 per cent”—the province’s minimum tax rate. Today’s topic: how to file taxes.

For many newcomers with HIV, immigrating to a new country isn’t just about accessing medication. For Mendoza, workshops like this one—focused on understanding tax rules in Canada—helped him stabilize his income and better support his three children.

The aptly named “New Horizons” workshop series is hosted by AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM). The five-year-old program was initially geared towards Spanish-speaking immigrants with HIV, but has expanded in recent years to meet the changes in Canada’s immigrant population.

Organizers at ACCM say that supporting successful integration has become increasingly important as more newcomers are being diagnosed with HIV.

The latest federal data reveals that over 2,000 migrants tested positive for HIV in 2022, an increase of close to 145 per cent within a single year.

In Quebec, the number of new recorded HIV cases in 2022 grew by over 75 per cent compared to the previous year. According to the Institut national de santé publique du Québec, the rise in cases is linkedto an overall increase in the number of migrants arriving in the province.

More than just healthcare

Mendoza came to Montreal in 2021 with his family after fleeing Colombia. Their safety was threatened due to discrimination against their transgender son and Mendoza’s own fears of being persecuted for living with HIV.

Migrants with HIV, he said, are at the intersection of multiple obstacles. Navigating an entirely new healthcare system is only one part of the challenge—having access to support for social and cultural integration is just as important.

“Human beings are dimensions: emotions, family, work and money,” he said. “[ACCM] really took me as a whole individual.”

Many migrants with HIV receive their diagnoses upon their arrival in Canada as part of a mandatory medical screening process required to obtain a working visa.

Jabulani Muzhizhizhi, ACCM newcomers support program coordinator, said that some migrants can feel alienated from their own cultural backgrounds after being diagnosed as HIV-positive. This is especially prevalent for those immigrating from countries where queerness is stigmatized or where toxic masculinity is the norm.

The New Horizons program, Muzhizhizhi said, aims to offer newcomers a sense of community during a time when living with HIV can feel especially isolating.

Roundtable discussions are a regular feature at these workshops. Topics like “migration stories” and “celebrating cultural traditions” are highlighted in the first weeks of the program to remind participants that they’re not alone.

“There is power in sharing,” Muzhizhizhi said. “If you know someone also faced the same stuff that you faced—that’s how bonds form.”

Prejudice was the first thing Mendoza was able to let go of after participating in ACCM’s workshops.

He explained that in Colombia, individuals living with HIV can become the target of attacks, particularly from extremist groups who unjustly perceive them as deliberately spreading HIV.

However, Mendoza said that the support of ACCM gave him the space to release the feelings of stigma that had previously been buried beneath the surface.

“I was finally able to expose that here,” he said, “and I felt safe that nothing was going to happen to me.”

Overcoming language barriers 

As the only non-francophone HIV/AIDS care centre in Montreal, support services department manager Miguel Cubillos said that ACCM faces a distinct responsibility to offer a comprehensive range of services.

Their staff is not only equipped to provide emotional support and guidance through the healthcare system, but they also assist with the immigration process by accompanying newcomers to immigration hearings or connecting them with legal support.

According to Cubillos, language is often a barrier that stands between a newcomer with HIV and access to medical documents, treatment options and education about HIV-positive prevention.

“We have a high responsibility with the population we serve because we are a minority,” Cubillos said, referring to the fact that many participants in the newcomers program are not native French nor English speakers.

For Israel Mohamed Conteh, a court reporter from Sierra Leone who fled to Canada after receiving threats over his journalism, ACCM became “one of the greatest pillars of support.” Being diagnosed as HIV-positive upon his arrival, Conteh turned to the organization for help, particularly in accessing French language courses essential for finding employment.

Since arriving in Montreal in 2024, Conteh financially supports his wife and child, who live in Guinea.

A former scout, Conteh does not back down from challenges. Despite facing numerous obstacles on his path to fluency in French, he refuses to seek work in an English-speaking province.

He views his time in Quebec as a chance to fulfill a lifelong goal.

“God brought me to Quebec for a particular reason,” Conteh said with a characteristic smile. “That reason? All my life, I’ve been among people that speak French.”

While living in Sierra Leone, Conteh worked as a COVID-19 and Ebola support counsellor, helping people navigate their next steps after receiving a diagnosis. Now, as he begins a new chapter in Canada, he believes he must “counsel himself” through his own diagnosis—this time, with the support and guidance of ACCM.

“You must live with [HIV] for eternity,” he said. “But once you accept it and take your medication, it will help you greatly.”

Delays and costs in medical care

Many migrants, whether diagnosed with HIV upon arrival or aware of their status before coming, face delays in being connected to care.

Isabelle Boucoiran, a researcher and OB/GYN at CHU Sainte-Justine who specializes in caring for pregnant women living with HIV, says that some of her patients have had to wait up to one month before being referred to a specialist.

Delays like that, she said, can be the difference between preventing or allowing vertical transmission—the passing of HIV from mother to child.

“For newcomers, when they arrive in Canada, there is so much going on,” Boucoiran said. “When you are struggling to find a place to live, doing your test is not your priority at all.”

At ACCM, much of the work revolves around being the on-ramp to care. Last year alone, Cubillos said that the organization supported 110 clients through its newcomers program, many of whom needed to connect to an HIV clinic.

While HIV medication for refugee claimants is completely covered by the Interim Federal Health Program, newcomers with HIV coming to Canada under a working visa can struggle to find employment that covers treatment under insurance.

With data from 225 pregnancies from 2019-2023, across CHU Sainte-Justine, CHU de Quebec-Laval and CUSM, Boucoiran said that the median out-of-pocket cost for antiretrovirals during pregnancy before insurance was around $2,300 for non-permanent residents. This is over four times the amount paid by Canadian citizens or permanent residents, she added.

Some of Boucoiran’s patients, particularly women from African countries where antiretrovirals are free, arrive in Canada with six to nine months’ worth of medication, anticipating the difficulties in accessing medication once they arrive.

For migrants who arrive without health or insurance coverage, ACCM partners with pharmaceutical companies like Gilead through compassion programs to provide opportunities to obtain at least six months of medication.

While community organizations like ACCM cannot substitute themselves for formal medical care and rapid linkage to an HIV specialist, they play an important role in bridging the gap during the first years of settlement.

Despite recent provincial cuts to English-service community resources, particularly those related to employment support, ACCM’s newcomers’ program received an increase in allocated funds from the Direction régionale de santé publique in March. The new budget increase was granted following the latest data on HIV rates among Canadian migrants.

With the funding increase running until 2027, Cubillos believes the program will be better positioned to serve youth migrants with HIV, who make up a large proportion of HIV-positive newcomers.

The organization also hopes to one day have enough resources to tackle migrant food insecurity and expand its food bank through partnerships with grocery stores and restaurants.

Cubillos said that challenges for migrants with HIV will only continue to evolve. However, he said that ACCM staff remain committed to adapting the program as needed, based on the shifting experiences of their members.

“The best reward,” Cubillos said, “is seeing members establish themselves and say: ‘Okay, now I’m here. The limbo situation is gone and I’m flourishing in the country.’”

 

Australia: Brazilian migrants recount their experience from diagnosis to new beginnings in Australia

‘Life doesn’t end when you are diagnosed with HIV: it’s a new beginning’

Augusto, 32, from Brisbane, and Carolina, 38, from Byron Bay receive free medical treatment in Australia, a service available to everyone, including foreign students. With the medication they receive, Luiz and Carolina’s viral load is so low that they are able to lead a completely healthy life. They decided to talk to SBS Portuguese to reduce the stigma surrounding people living with HIV.

SBS in Portuguese interviewed Brazilians living with HIV in Australia, Augusto, from Brisbane who has been living with HIV for over ten years and Carolina, from Byron Baywho received a positive result two years ago.

To protect the privacy of both, their names have been changed.
Discovering the positive result for HIV
“I was deteriorating. Some days I could go to work; other days, I felt too weak. My family inquired about my delayed results and discovered I was HIV positive. That’s how my journey with HIV began, still in Brazil,” he recalled.
Carolina decided to get tested in New South Wales after discovering her boyfriend had been cheating on her.
Initially, the doctor hesitated to request the test, arguing that she wasn’t part of high-risk groups. However, after insisting, she was tested.
“My discovery was shocking. It changed my life forever, because the result came back positive for HIV,” she shared.
She remembers the doctor initially hesitating to request the exam, arguing that Carolina did not fit the risk group because she was heterosexual, but after the patient’s insistence, the test was performed.
Reaction to the Diagnosis: Always Seek Professional Help
Reactions to an HIV diagnosis vary. Augusto accepted it almost immediately, while Carolina faced deep distress, even contemplating suicidal thoughts.
“I accepted my condition and took care of myself. There are always doubts and stigmas, but over time, you learn to cope,” Augusto said.
Carolina, however, recounted, “it felt like the ground disappeared beneath my feet. I had no knowledge of HIV. I was on a student visa in a foreign country and thought it was the end of my journey and my Australian dream.”
“I received support from Positive Life NSW, an NGO that helps people living with HIV here in Australia.”

Augusto also found assistance: “I highly recommend the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. They treated me with great care, provided free treatment when I was an international student, and even arranged an interpreter.”
The importance of medical treatment: undetectable = untransmittable (U=U)
Those who follow antiretroviral treatment become undetectable, meaning their viral load is so low that it cannot be detected or transmitted. As a result, they can live completely healthy lives.

Both Augusto and Carolina are currently undetectable.

HIV doesn’t prevent you from studying, working, living a healthy life 
As both our interviewees had to navigate diagnosis and treatment in and out of Australia fears of losing heir visas status always hanged over their heads.

Augusto, who is now an Australian citizen, shares his experience: “A Brazilian migration agent told me it would be impossible to get permanent residency as I am living with HIV. But I didn’t give up and sought a second opinion from a different agent, who was amazing and explained the steps I could take.”

Carolina successfully applied for permanent residency and soon will become a citizen.
“The visa process wasn’t easy. For someone with HIV, you need a health waiver. My doctor confirmed I was undetectable, and with a specialist lawyer, we demonstrated that my condition wouldn’t affect my ability to contribute to the country.”
Serodiscordant relationships can be healthy and happy
A serodiscordant relationship is when one partner has HIV, and the other does not. Both Augusto and Carolina are in such relationships.

“When I told my boyfriend in 2017, he said he didn’t mind and loved me the same way. The most important thing is that I continue my treatment, and we can have a completely normal life,” Augusto said.

Carolina added, “After my diagnosis, I started a relationship with a man who doesn’t have HIV. He helped me realise that HIV doesn’t define who I am and that our relationship could be completely normal as long as I follow my medical treatment.”
Serodiscordant relationships are healthy and happy
In a serodiscordant relationship, one partner is living with HIV and the other is not. Augusto and Carolina are in serodiscordant relationships where their current partners are not living with HIV.

Augusto told his boyfriend, when he met him in 2017, that he was a person living with HIV.

“When I told him about my serology, he said that he didn’t care about it and that he loved me the same way. The most important thing is that I continue to do my treatment and then we could have a completely normal life, both of us being healthy and happy.”

“Soon after my diagnosis, I began a relationship with a man who is not living HIV-positive, and he was fundamental to my recovery process. He took care of me when I was depressed because of the diagnosis and he was the one who educated me about HIV. He made me realise that HIV doesn’t define who I am, and that our relationship could be completely normal, as long as I get my medical treatment.”
Having a Baby When You Are Living with HIV
With treatment and medical supervision, it is possible to have a safe pregnancy.

Carolina shared her dream: “I’m so excited I am able to have children! I take daily medication that suppresses the virus, making it undetectable, it won’t be transmitted to the baby.”

‘Life doesn’t end when you are diagnosed with HIV: it’s a new beginning’
At the end of the podcast, Augusto and Carolina shared messages for those newly diagnosed with HIV.

“I’ve been living a normal life since I found out I was HIV positive about 10 years ago. Life doesn’t end when you discover you have HIV, it just reboots,” Augusto said. “I take my medication every day, exercise, and follow my treatment.”

“Although the diagnosis may be a shock at first, it’s possible to live a healthy and full life with the right treatment. Being well-informed opens the doors to effective treatments. My message is one of hope: yes, it is possible to live a completely normal life, even with HIV,” said Carolina.

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) can be transmitted through unprotected sex, sharing contaminated needles, and from an untreated HIV-positive mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.

People living with HIV in Australia can find support, free medical treatment, and specialised services at various organisations across the country.

Victoria – Living Positive Victoria or

New South Wales (NSW) –

or Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS)

Queensland – Queensland Positive People (QPP) or Queensland Council for LGBTI Health Northern
Territory – NAPWHA Peer Support (National Association of People) with HIV Australia) South Australia – SAMESH (South Australia Mobilisation + Empowerment for Sexual Health)
Tasmania – Tasmanian Council on AIDS, Hepatitis and Related Diseases (TAScaHRD)
Canberra – HIV/AIDS Legal Centre (HALC) or Canberra Sexual Health Centre

Botswana: New research shows healthcare worker face ethical challenges in the provision of healthcare to migrants

“No, it is not a breach of my oath because it is beyond my control; I use the policies that are in place.” Ethical challenges faced by healthcare workers in the provision of healthcare to cross-border migrants in Botswana

Abstract

Background

With a growing global population of migrants, understanding the complex dynamics between healthcare providers and policy restrictions is crucial for ensuring equitable access to healthcare. The main objective of this qualitative study was to explore the ethical challenges faced by health care providers in the provision of health care to migrants.

Methods

We conducted in –depth interviews with 11 healthcare providers, which were analysed using thematic analyse. Atlas ti software was used to analysis the data.

Results

Healthcare workers reported facing ethical challenges as a result of not being able to provide medical care to migrant patients because healthcare policies deny them access to healthcare. These policies make it difficult for healthcare professionals to fulfil their duties in accordance with their oath. Failure to provide healthcare to migrant patients can cause moral distress for healthcare workers and affect their well-being. Reporting migrant patients to the police was mentioned as another ethical challenge, which is a breach of confidentiality. Several healthcare providers have developed strategies to address the limitations of migrants’ access to healthcare, including encouraging migrants to access healthcare from their home country and using private healthcare facilities.

Conclusions

Health policies influence the way health care providers carry out their tasks, which can either positively or negatively impact access for vulnerable migrant groups. To address the challenges faced by healthcare providers in implementing their professional ethics, inclusive policies should be introduced, and human rights and ethics training should be provided, as well as ongoing dialogue to ensure that healthcare providers fulfil their professional obligations toward all migrant patients.

The full study is available at: https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-025-01195-4

Spain: Stigmatisation and bureaucratic barriers for LGBT migrants trying to exercise their right to health in Madrid.

Translated with Google translate. For original article in Spanish, please scroll down. 

“I have been treated like garbage”: when discrimination against LGTBI migrants also creeps into health.

The COGAM collective denounces the stigmatization and bureaucratic barriers that these people face when trying to exercise their right to health in Madrid. ‘Infobae’ talks to a young Venezuelan who has applied for asylum in Spain.

The LGTBI collective continues to be the subject of harassment and violence around the world, a particularly complicated situation in some Latin American countries, where they live in a reality marked by homicides, attacks and discrimination. This is what happened in Venezuela to K.C., a 33-year-old homosexual man who suffered a rape “perpetrated by a policeman” in 2016 from which he is still trying to recover. Due to that aggression for which he contracted HIV and that caused him a state of tension and permanent fear, he decided to leave and settle in Colombia, where he lived until July last year, when he moved to Spain. The reason why K.C. (fictitious name) left this second country is because he met one of his aggressors and was not willing to live in fear.

K.C. claims to have felt stigmatized both “for being Latino and for his HIV diagnosis.” “The doctors don’t listen to me and make me feel like I’m stealing the medical care that should be for Spaniards. I’ve been treated like trash and I only go to the health center when I have an emergency because I don’t want to feel humiliated,” he says. In addition, he mentions wrong diagnoses and inadequate treatments that, far from improving his condition, have aggravated his health: “I know I accessed health care, but at what cost?” he asks himself.
The only time he has been properly cared for, he says, was when he went to the Sandoval medical center, the only one in Madrid specialized in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. This young man also assures that in Spain is where he has really “been aware of his skin color,” because he lives episodes of racism every day, especially when he goes to the supermarket or when he travels by subway.

COGAM’s complaint

Like K.C., there are many LGTBI+ migrants for whom access to public health continues to be a challenge in the region, as denounced by the Collective of lesbians, gays, transsexuals and bisexuals of Madrid (COGAM), which criticizes “discrimination, stigmatization and bureaucratic barriers that these people face daily when trying to exercise their fundamental right to health.” The difficulties, they assure, not only respond to the lack of administrative regularization, but also “to the dehumanizing treatment and the lack of empathy in primary care centers and hospitals,” as this is reflected in some of the testimonies collected by the organization, which show “stigmatization by nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity and serological status“.

This is the case of Nicolás Henríquez, a 28-year-old Chilean, who denounces the lack of access to preventive treatments such as the pre-exposure prophylaxis pill or PrEP, which is taken to reduce the chances of contracting HIV infection, due to bureaucratic delays: “I wanted to start PrEP, but they didn’t give me an appointment until five months later. I was finally diagnosed with HIV, something that I could perhaps avoid if I had been treated before,” he says.

The situation is also complicated for Vitória Ribeiro, a 27-year-old Brazilian student, because the private insurance required for her visa, she explains, “is very expensive and inefficient,” so that if something happens to her outside of business hours, “she cannot receive help.” “This generates constant concern and anxiety in me.”

For all this, from COGAM they demand that the Madrid health authorities guarantee “real and universal access to public health for all people, regardless of their migratory status or identity,” as well as combating stigma and discrimination through awareness programs and training of medical personnel.

Another of the collective’s claims is the specific training for health personnel in terms of LGTBI+ diversity and care for migrants and they ask that access to preventive and specific treatments, such as PrEP and antiretrovirals, be facilitated, “without bureaucratic obstacles.” The health system, they conclude, “must be a safe space where anyone receives dignified and quality care.”


“Me han tratado como basura”: cuando la discriminación hacia las personas migrantes LGTBI también se cuela en la sanidad.

El colectivo COGAM denuncia la estigmatización y barreras burocráticas a las que se enfrentan estas personas al intentar ejercer su derecho a la salud en Madrid. ‘Infobae’ habla con un joven venezolano que ha solicitado asilo en España.

El colectivo LGTBI sigue siendo objeto de acoso y violencia en todo el mundo, una situación especialmente complicada en algunos países de América Latina, donde viven una realidad marcada por homicidios, ataques y discriminación. Así le ocurrió en Venezuela a K.C., un hombre homosexual de 33 años que sufrió una violación “perpetrada por un policía” en 2016 de la que aún trata de recuperarse. Debido a esa agresión por la que contrajo VIH y que le provocó un estado de tensión y miedo permanente, decidió marcharse e instalarse en Colombia, donde vivió hasta julio del año pasado, cuando se trasladó a España. El motivo por el que K.C. (nombre ficticio) se marchó de este segundo país es porque se encontró con uno de sus agresores y no estaba dispuesto a vivir atemorizado.

En Madrid, donde reside desde hace ocho meses y ha solicitado asilo por razones humanitarias, se encuentra más seguro, pero también ha atravesado enormes dificultades para acceder a la sanidad pública, barreras que acaban afectando a su bienestar físico y emocional, perpetuando situaciones de desigualdad y vulnerabilidad.

“El primer choque que tuve en la consulta es que me hablaron de forma muy despectiva cuando solo quería asesorarme, porque aún no sabía cómo funcionaban las cosas acá. Una doctora me preguntó cuál era mi nacionalidad, cuando en realidad no era un dato relevante, pero me dio a entender que éramos las personas extranjeras quienes traíamos las enfermedades a España”, explica a Infobae este joven. “Ser migrante no significa que no tengamos derechos”, critica.

K.C. asegura haberse sentido estigmatizado tanto “por ser latino como por su diagnóstico de VIH”. “Los médicos no me escuchan y me hacen sentir como si estuviera robando la atención médica que debería ser para españoles. Me han tratado como una basura y ya solo acudo al centro de salud cuando tengo una urgencia porque no quiero sentirme humillado”, relata. Además, menciona diagnósticos erróneos y tratamientos inadecuados que, lejos de mejorar su estado, han agravado su salud: “Sé que accedí a la sanidad, pero ¿a qué costo?”, se pregunta.

La única vez que le han atendido adecuadamente, sostiene, fue cuando acudió al centro médico Sandoval, el único en Madrid especializado en la prevención, diagnóstico y tratamiento de las infecciones de transmisión sexual. Este joven también asegura que en España es donde realmente “ha sido consciente de su color de piel”, porque vive a diario episodios de racismo, especialmente cuando va al supermercado o cuando viaja en metro.

Denuncia de COGAM

Al igual que K.C., son muchas las personas migrantes LGTBI+ para las que el acceso a la sanidad pública continúa siendo un desafío en la región, tal y como ha denunciado el Colectivo de lesbianas, gais, transexuales y bisexuales de Madrid (COGAM), que critica “la discriminación, estigmatización y barreras burocráticasque enfrentan estas personas a diario al intentar ejercer su derecho fundamental a la salud”. Las dificultades, aseguran, no solo responden a la falta de regularización administrativa, sino también “al trato deshumanizante y la falta de empatía en centros de atención primaria y hospitales”, pues así lo reflejan algunos de los testimonios que ha recogido la organización, que evidencian “estigmatización por nacionalidad, orientación sexual, identidad de género y estado serológico“.

Es el caso de Nicolás Henríquez, chileno de 28 años, denuncia la falta de acceso a tratamientos preventivos como la pastilla de profilaxis preexposición o PrEP, que se toma para reducir las posibilidades de contraer la infección por VIH, debido a retrasos burocráticos: “Quise iniciar la PrEP, pero no me dieron cita hasta cinco meses después. Finalmente fui diagnosticado con VIH, algo que quizá pude evitar si me hubieran atendido antes”, relata.

La situación también es complicada para Vitória Ribeiro, estudiante brasileña de 27 años, pues el seguro privado exigido para su visado, explica, “es muy caro y poco eficiente”, de forma que si le ocurre algo fuera del horario de atención, “no puede recibir ayuda”. “Esto me genera una constante preocupación y ansiedad”.

Por todo ello, desde COGAM reclaman a las autoridades sanitarias madrileñas que garanticen “un acceso real y universal a la sanidad pública para todas las personas, independientemente de su estatus migratorio o identidad”, así como combatir el estigma y la discriminación a través de programas de sensibilización y formación del personal médico.

Otro de los reclamos del colectivo es la formación específica para el personal sanitario en materia de diversidad LGTBI+ y atención a personas migrantes y piden que se facilite el acceso a tratamientos preventivos y específicos, como la PrEP y los antirretrovirales, “sin trabas burocráticas”. El sistema sanitario, concluyen, “debe ser un espacio seguro donde cualquier persona reciba atención digna y de calidad”.