By IRNA,
New Delhi : India’s Union Science and Technology Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said that strategic global partnerships should be created to address scientific challenges in the path of the discovery of an AIDS vaccine.
In a statement to mark the occasion of World AIDS Vaccine Day, observed on May 18 every year, he said that there is a need to stimulate innovation to seek new ways of designing, screening, developing and testing such a vaccine.
‘We now have proof that an AIDS vaccine is possible; however, the development of such a vaccine, like that of any other biomedical technology, takes time,’ he said.
‘We need to stimulate innovation to produce novel AIDS vaccine candidates and new ways of designing, screening, developing, and testing these,’ Bansal said.
It is also imperative to form strategic global partnerships to address the scientific challenges and to train a new generation of young and enthusiastic scientists who are willing to dedicate themselves to the discovery of an AIDS vaccine, he said.
Over the last three decades, HIV has infected more than 60 crore people and claimed nearly 30 crore lives worldwide, he noted.
‘On the occasion of World AIDS Vaccine Day, the Ministry of Science and Technology reiterates its commitment to the quest for an AIDS vaccine,’ Bansal said.
The concept of World AIDS Vaccine Day rooted in May 18, 1997, is observed annually on May 18. HIV vaccine advocates mark the day by promoting the continued urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS.
The first World AIDS Vaccine Day was observed on May 18, 1998 and the tradition continues today. Each year communities around the globe hold a variety of activities on World AIDS Vaccine Day to raise awareness for AIDS vaccines, educate communities about HIV prevention and research for an AIDS vaccine and bring attention to the ways in which ordinary people can be a part of the international effort to stem the pandemic.