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 (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))
Stephanie A Nixon (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address))

References

1.      United Nations: UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.  2008. [http://www.un.org/disabilities/default.asp?id=150]
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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.
7.      Rusch M, Nixon S, Schilder A, Braitstain P, Chan K, Hogg R: Impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions: Prevalence among persons living with HIV/AIDS in British Columbia Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2004, 2:46.
8.      The Cross Cluster Initiative on Home-Based Long-Term Care, The Department of HIV/AIDS and Family and Community Health of the World Health Organisation: Community home-based care in resource-limited settings. A framework for action. World Health Organisation, Geneva; 2002.
9.      Worthington C, Myers T, O’Brien K, Nixon S, Cockerill R: Rehabilitation in HIV/AIDS: development of an expanded conceptual framework. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 2005, 19:258-271.
10.    Myezwa H, Stewart A, Musenge E, Nesara P: Assessment of HIV-positive in-patients using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johannesburg. African Journal of AIDS Research 2009, 8:93-106.
11.    Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation: Resources on Episodic Disability [http://www.hivandrehab.ca/EN/resources/episodic_disabilities.php]
12.    O’Brien K, Wilkins A, Zack E, Solomon P: Scoping the field: Identifying key research priorities in HIV and rehabilitation. AIDS and behavior. March 2009. DOI 10.1007/s10461-009-9528-z. 2009.
13.    O’Brien K, Bayoumi AM, Strike C, Young N, Davis AM: Exploring disability from the perspective of adults living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a conceptual framework. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2008, 6:76.
14.    Ernst J, Hufnagle KS, Shippy A: HIV and Older Adults. New York: AIDS Community Research Initiative of America; 2008.
15.    Booysen F: Social grants as safety nets for HIV/AIDS-affected households in South Africa1(1). SAHARA Journal 2004, 1:45-56.

Full references

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF.