Singapore: In a recent conference organized by the International AIDS Vaccine Institute, experts said that though the world has made considerable progress in curbing AIDS it was important to have a safe vaccine which will prevent the disease.

Mr Benny Kottiri, health science administrator and senior researcher at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the development of a vaccine was very important to eradicate AIDS from the world.

Dr V M Katoch, secretary department of health research, India said that efforts to make a vaccine have to be intensified. "India has contained it. We can further contain the virus, but HIV will always be there, until we find a vaccine."

Dr Katoch added that though a few molecules have shown promise in studies, researchers have not been able to effectively develop a candidate vaccine that can prevent the disease.

According to a UN report, India has third-highest number of people living with HIV in the world with nearly 2.1 million people suffering from the deadly disease.