The answer to this question depends on what you mean by disability. In this resource, we consider people with disabilities to include those who have long-term or episodic physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.1 This is the definition in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) so we do not consider HIV per se to be a disability in this resource.
However, in certain social support systems, being HIV-positive may qualify people for a “disability grant” or other forms of income support or financial benefit.2 In these unique instances, people may consider HIV to count as itself a disability.
1 United Nations. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
2 Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Income Security for People living with HIV/AIDS in Canada (PDF)