Poverty and HIV

National Aids Trust / Terrence Higgins Trust, 2010

This report examines the relationship between poverty and HIV. Recommendations directly relevant to migrants include the following:

  • Migrants living with HIV are at risk of unintentionally breaching visa conditions if they become suddenly ill. UKBA should show flexibility in working with migrants whose poor health or hospitalisation has contributed to a breach of immigration controls.
  • Asylum seekers should have the right to work after 6 months. For asylum seekers living with HIV, the ability to take up employment would offer an exit out of poverty.
  • Subsistence payments for asylum seekers should be increased to a level that is equivalent to income support. At only 55% of the level of income support, asylum payments are insufficient to meet the basic needs of asylum seekers living with HIV, with serious health implications.
  • UKBA and DWP should work together to ensure that asylum seekers who have just been granted leave to remain and are eligible for benefits are guided and assisted through the application process, so that the delay in receiving benefits is minimised. Such delays leave asylum seekers living with HIV without income to meet their basic needs.
  • The Section 4 voucher and card system adversely affects the physical and mental health of asylum seekers living with HIV. Section 4 support should be provided as cash benefits. The voucher and card system should be discontinued. Section 4 support should be equivalent to income support.
  • Repairs and adaptations requested by tenants living with HIV should be addressed promptly, whether housing is provided by local authorities or by private providers contracted by UKBA.
  • UKBA urgently needs to improve its housing stock to ensure that the human rights of asylum seekers are respected. The inadequate housing currently provided presents significant challenges for managing HIV and maintaining good health.
  • Government initiatives to end child poverty, such as the Every Child Matters agenda, should specifically address the needs of children of parents who are subject to immigration controls. Immigration restrictions on work and benefits disproportionately affect families who are affected by both HIV and poverty.

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