A South African Aids activist has been banned from a life-saving mission in Canada because of his HIV-positive status.
Shaun Mellors, a founding member of the National Association of People Living with Aids and the organisation's former global director, was about to take up a two-year contract with an international Aids service organisation in Toronto when he was barred from working in Canada because of his HIV status.
The ban, which is to be fought by lawyers representing large non-governmental organisations in Canada, could lead to an international outcry, particularly as Canada has been chosen to host the 16th World Aids Conference in 2006.
Mellors was notified by Canadian officials in Pretoria that he would not be granted a two-year visa to continue his work as he could create "excessive demand" on the Canadian health care system.
An official at the Canadian High Commission said that the "inadmissible" clause was in accordance with section 381c of a new Canadian statute - introduced in June this year - which applies to HIV-positive people wishing to be in the country longer than six months.
"It's of huge concern that legalised Aids apartheid is emerging in many countries, not only Canada," said Mellors, 36, who has lived with HIV for the past 15 years.
"We are seeing this same pariah thinking in Australia and India, but fortunately not in South Africa," he said.
Mellors was to have joined the International Council of Aids Service Organisations as their HIV, vaccine and microbicide policy co-ordinator after it was found that nobody in Canada was suited to the job. He now has only has a two-month ministerial permit for Canada while lawyers appeal his banning.
Mellors, who believes that "disclosure and getting rid of the stigma" are two key issues in the control and treatment of HIV, said that he had no problem in declaring his status to the Canadian government before taking up his new job.
"What happened afterwards was nothing short of a nightmare.
"I received forms from the Canadian high commission telling me that syphillis, HIV, chest and urine analysis had to be done first.
"As my CD4 count is an acceptable 540, and my viral load undetectable, I did not imagine there would be any problem," he said.
But he was wrong. The tests were sent to a chief medical officer in Nairobi, who asked for another opinion on Shaun's HIV status. After a second test, the information was sent to Canadian government officials in Ottawa.
Days later he was informed by the country's high commission in South Africa that a visa had been denied.
"Not only are you being unfairly targeted, confidentiality is non-existent," said Mellors shortly before flying to Canada on his restricted permit.
A Canadian ministerial permit does not come with any health insurance.
As Canada's private health insurance schemes have an exclusion clause for HIV, it would be impossible for him to obtain the antiretroviral therapy he needs to maintain his current health status.
Mellors made his HIV status known at the age of 21. Since then he has campaigned for non-discrimination against people living with Aids.
He also worked at the Aids Consortium at the University of the Witwatersrand with Judge Edwin Cameron. Mellors has been a delegate to several world conferences on the topic of Aids.