National AIDS Control Organization (NACO)

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) is the nodal organisation for formulation of policy and implementation of programmes for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India. The overall vision of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) is to lead and catalyse an expanded response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to contain the spread of infection, reduce people's vulnerability to HIV, promote community and family based care to HIV/AIDS cases within an enabling environment without any stigmatization and discrimination, and alleviate the epidemic's devastating social and economic impact.

The National AIDS Control Programme launched in 1987 established a comprehensive, multisectoral programme for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in India to prevent HIV transmission; decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with the HIV infection and minimise the socio-economic impact resulting from the HIV infection. The National AIDS Control programme has been decentralised. State AIDS Societies have been set up in all the States and Union Territories to manage state efforts for HIV/AIDS prevention and control, including management of NGO collaboration. The activities of the National AIDS Control Organization include information, education, communication (IEC) campaigns and social mobilisation; condom promotion, blood safety, control of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, co-ordination and promotion of biomedical research, having been founded in 1911, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.

The Council promotes biomedical research in the country through intramural as well as extramural research. Intramural research is carried out through the Council's (i) Permanent Research Institutes/Centres (21 in number), which are mission-oriented institutes located in different parts of India undertaking research on specific health topics like tuberculosis, leprosy, cholera and diarrhoeal diseases, viral diseases, AIDS, malaria, vector control, nutrition, food & drugs toxicology, reproduction, immuno-haematology, oncology, medical statistics, etc, and (ii) Regional Medical Research Centres (6 in number) which address the regional health problems and also aim to strengthen or generate research capabilities in different geographic areas of the country.

Extramural research is promoted by ICMR through (i) setting up Centres for Advanced Research in different areas around existing expertise and infrastructure in selected departments of Medical Colleges, Universities and other non-ICMR Research Institutes,(ii) Task Force studies which are multicentric, time-bound, goal oriented studies with clearly defined targets, specific time frames and standardised and uniform methodologies, (iii) open-ended research on the basis of applications for grants-in-aid received from scientists in non-ICMR research institutes, medical colleges and universities located in different parts of the country.

The Council's research priorities coincide with the national health priorities such as control/ management of major infectious diseases, fertility control, maternal and child health, nutritional disorders, containment with safety limits of environmental/ occupational health hazards, major non-communicable diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, blindness, diabetes mellitus, hematological disorders and mental health research; and drug research (including herbal drugs). Research in the field of new biology including immunology, cell and molecular biology, genetics, genomics and biotechnology is being pursued more vigorously. All these efforts aim to reduce the total burden of disease and to promote health and well being of the population.

Human resource development in biomedical research is promoted by ICMR through its Fellowship programmes, Research Sabbatical, Emeritus Scientist, etc. The Council also recognises excellence in research by awarding prizes to Indian scientists for significant research contributions.

The National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) was established in 1992 with the mission to provide leadership in biomedical research on HIV/AIDS in India to compliment and strengthen the National AIDS Control Programmes. In order to accomplish this, NARI brings together a multidisciplinary team of scientists in epidemiology, public health, cultural anthropology, infectious diseases, quantitative and qualitative methodology and biostatistics and other related fields. With partial funding from ICMR, NARI also receives almost equal funding from national and international agencies. NARI's mission includes basic behavioural and social science research in areas that must be understood to develop appropriate HIV preventive interventions suitable in countries such as India with various cultural, ethnic and community backgrounds.

NARI has well equipped microbiology immunology micrology and molecular biology laboratories and a data management centre. There are six academic divisions: Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Serology and Immunology, Clinical Sciences, Molecular Virology, Microbiology and Behavioural and Social Sciences. A Scientific Advisory Committee reviews all research projects, and all these programmes are put through an Ethics Committee for approval. The Institute has isolated HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains of virus for characterisation necessary for base-line work for future efforts towards development of AIDS vaccine using Indian viral strains. NARI has generated and followed a cohort of `at risk' HIV seronegative individual for estimation of incidence rates of HIV. The biological and behavioural risk factors have also been identified. Such cohorts are critical for any future intervention trials and will become a major strength in making available an AIDS vaccine for India. One vaccine that is currently in the pipeline is a candidate Modified Vaccina Ankara (MVA) vaccine based on HIV C being developed under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian government and IAVI.

The Tuberculosis Research Centre (TRC) is one of the national research institutes dedicated to HIV/AIDS. Headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, TRC was set up in 1956 by the ICMR to provide leadership in biomedical research in India and to complete the National Tuberculosis Control Programme. More recently, in view of the close interaction between tuberculosis and HIV, the TRC has also involved itself with research into HIV. The institution has one of India’s best and most experienced multidisciplinary teams of scientists and some of the best-equipped laboratories for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS research in the country.

TRC complements the National AIDS Control Programme by contributing to national efforts for preventing and controlling HIV/AIDS in the country and providing care and support to people living with HIV/AIDS. TRC is the trial site for the Second Phase I preventive AIDS vaccine trial in India.

Y R Gaitonde Centre for AIDS Research and Education (YRG CARE) is a premier non-profit referral centre in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Its mission is to ensure people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, live with dignity and that there is no further transmission of the infection. It was founded in 1993 by Dr Suniti Solomon, who documented the first evidence of HIV infection in India in 1986, at the Madras Medical College, with which she was then associated as a Professor of Microbiology.

YRG CARE offers an unusually broad array of services along the entire spectrum of prevention to care. The organisation is widely recognised for the AIDS care and support services it provides to over six thousand registered patients. YRG CARE has developed capacity to conduct ethically and scientifically rigorous community, clinic and laboratory based research. It has extensive experience in community based research, in particular, spanning structured ethnography, focus groups, in-depth interviews, quantitative surveys, mapping and enumeration and cohort location and retention. Research undertaken by the organisation is first approved by an Institutional Review Board and guided by a Community Advisory Board.

TRC and YRG are collaborating on the second Phase I AIDS vaccine trial in Chennai, Tamil Nadu for community mobilisation and recruitment of volunteers.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) was established under the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology in 1986 to give impetus to the development of the field of modern biology and biotechnology in India. Significant achievements include the growth and application of biotechnology in the broad areas of medical biotechnology and health care, agriculture, animal sciences, environment, and industry. DBT has more than 5000 research publications, 4000 post-doctoral students, several technologies transferred to industries and patents (including US patents) to its credit. Initiatives have been taken to promote transgenic research in plants with emphasis on pest and disease resistance, nutritional quality, silk-worm genome analysis, molecular biology of human genetic disorders, brain research, plant genome research, development, validation and commercialisation of diagnostic kits and vaccines for communicable diseases, food biotechnology, biodiversity conservation and bioprospecting, setting up of micropropagation parks and biotechnology based development for SC/ST, rural areas, women and for different States. Necessary guidelines for transgenic plants, recombinant vaccines and drugs have also been evolved. A strong base of indigenous capabilities has been created.

"An AIDS Vaccine for low income countries is a public good which is not likely to happen without innovative international public action ."

The AIDS Epidemic is growing rapidly in the Asia & Pacific Region. It has already devastated many countries, communities & families, affecting political, social and economic structures, particularly in the developing world. The effect of the epidemic is reversing many of the hard won gains of the last 50 years.

Given the extent and the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the world urgently needs an AIDS Vaccine.

AIDS Vaccine Research started in the 1980's and is now underway worldwide. As of 2004, most experts agree that the development of an effective AIDS Vaccine will require many more years of work.

"Our country is an emerging global leader in biomedical research. With this first trial, Indian scientists are making an important contribution that will bring the world a step closer to an AIDS vaccine."

"The partnership in India is an example of the kind of international collaboration that is critical to the quest for a vaccine. We must work together to mobilize the best science in the fight against the epidemic."