Top companies like Infosys and Tata have joined hands with the Indian Council of Medical Research or ICMR, the National AIDS Control Organisation or NACO, and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative or IAVI, to develop preventive HIV/AIDS vaccines. They have agreed on concrete measures to help the vaccine programme in India, in vaccine research and development efforts. These companies will provide technical assistance to IAVI, ICMR and NACO to conduct research on the vaccine. 

They will also provide support for vaccine trials on low-risk healthy individuals and will ensure that poorer patients have access to these vaccines. Chairman of Tata Sons Ltd, Ratan Tata, chairman of Infosys Technologies, Narayana Murthy and president and CEO of IAVI, Dr Seth Berkeley discussed the significance of private sector participation in fighting HIV/AIDS, which is draining economies of vital resources. They agreed that corporate support for an AIDS vaccine programme would help research and speed up access to a vaccine.

According to Dr Seth Berkeley, AIDS is the worst epidemic since the 14th century and India has been identified as having the second largest population of HIV-infected patients. He stated that there are 70 million people infected with HIV across the world and 30 million people die of it every year. He stressed the importance of developing an HIV vaccine to end the epidemic. IAVI is an international non-profit organisation that is working to develop a preventive AIDS vaccine. 

They plan to administer the vaccine to people at risk of contracting the disease. Five IAVI-sponsored research partnerships are also developing AIDS vaccines. Human trials for these vaccines are expected to be held by the end of 2004 in India, Africa, Europe, and the US.

Mr Narayana Murthy said, "AIDS has become a global threat and businesses can only succeed in a healthy society. Companies can contribute by bringing their project management skills to the vaccine development programme. We must support private sector employees who wish to participate in AIDS vaccine trials. Infosys will definitely participate by recognising the problem, the urgency of the problem, ensure there is no stigma attached to it and provide funds." 

Mr Ratan Tata said, "We are dealing with what is almost an epidemic. Business has an important role to play in countering AIDS through vaccine development. We need to make this our problem and corporates needs to support agencies that are trying to develop a vaccine."