A high level Technical Consultation organised on 28th July, 2015 in New Delhi saw the participation of Indian and East African experts from leading institutes/centres of excellence.

In addition to facilitating acceleration of new preventive technologies, such initiatives would help to ensure greater role for Low- and Middle-Income economies in AIDS vaccine research.

This and the proposed collaboration between India and Netherlands in HIV research, announced during the Dutch Prime Minsters visit to India, would value add to effort of the Government of India through technology and knowledge transfer. DBT and ICMR are in the process of structuring a national program being for Chronic and Acute infection HIV cohorts, setting up of a National Biorepository and initiating studies towards HIV Virology and Host-Microbe interaction.

"These multiple interlinked efforts contribute to Government of India's mandate of eradicating diseases through effective preventive measures, convert India into a knowledge society as well provide accessible, affordable, accountable, and effective primary healthcare facilities, are bringing the two Ministries of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Science & Technology together," mentioned Dr Rajat Goyal, Country Director - International AIDS Vaccine Initiative.

HIV remains one of the most challenging viral diseases worldwide and for India- despite substantial progress in reducing new incidence of HIV, the country still houses with the third-highest number of people of people living with the disease at 2.1 million.

To reach zero HIV burden in the country it is critical to fill gaps in the knowledge of how humans can defeat the virus as well reenergize and revolutionalize research efforts through relevant partnerships to understand factors responsible for prevention and control of HIV infection and to develop strategies that support and accelerate discovery efforts.

In addressing diseases of concern for improved public health, HIV research is an emerging program priority for India with a goal to help identify tools and methods for disease detection, intervention, control, prevention and subsequent eradication.

The Government of India has taken several initiatives over the years to reinforce the national response to the global fight against HIV/AIDS through the MoHFW and the MoST departments.

Continued and ongoing efforts in HIV research to understand the interaction between humans and disease are critical to not only boost efforts for biomedical tools of prevention like HIV vaccine but also accelerate R&D initiatives for finding solutions to help curb the disease in India.