HIV Status and Application to the Peace Corps

-Mike Learned, RPCV Malawi

At annual Pride/Parade celebrations, many Peace Corps regional offices will have information and recruiting staffs present at such events. A question that always comes up on such occasions is “can people who are HIV positive, but otherwise healthy, apply for the Peace Corps?” For the last few years, the answer to this question has been, “yes.” HIV disease is treated as a medical condition. All applicants who are invited to take part in a Peace Corps program are medically evaluated.

Several things have to be determined. Will an applicant’s health allow her or him to serve in a particular Peace Corps assignment without jeopardizing his or her health? Are there medical resources available to support the medical needs of an applicant with a particular medical condition at a particular site, in a particular program, in a particular country? Can the applicant with a medical condition be expected to complete a full tour without undue interruption to his or her program or Peace Corps service?

Peace Corps considers HIV a chronic disease, as it does diabetes, high blood pressure and other medical conditions. Peace Corps does consider applicants with HIV disease, and Peace Corps’ Office of Medical Services advises and has evaluated applicants who are HIV positive.

Our position as an organization is that Peace Corps treat HIV disease in a way similar to other chronic diseases and medical conditions. We understand that most Peace Corps assignments require rigorous good health. Would we recommend that a volunteer with HIV disease be allowed to serve anywhere? I think not. Many of us (young, energetic and healthy) experienced serious health problems during our service in remote and disease-ridden areas. Can you imagine what might have happened with compromised immune systems?

I have chosen not to ask the Office of Medical Services if applicants with HIV disease have served as volunteers. The reason – I don’t think it’s any of our business. If I were an applicant with HIV disease who was accepted, I would not want the Peace Corps or anyone else broadcasting my presence, even if I remained unidentified. On the other hand, if there’s an HIV positive applicant out there who feels he or she has been unfairly evaluated, and she or he wants to pursue that decision as discriminatory, that’s another issue, and we’d like to hear about it.

Mike Learned was a volunteer in Malawi. He can be reached at lgbrpcv-news@lgbrpcv.org.