On a routine visit to the Thalassemia Day Care Centre at IGICH today I came across a distressing piece of news. The Doctors told me that one of the child who was coming to the day care for a few weeks now has been sent back home from the ICU. The look on the faces of the doctors told me that it was no reason to celebrate. Even as they acknowledged the little help that was offered to take care of the expenses on the medical tests that had to be outsourced, what followed was completely shocking!

Zinda rehne ke mausam bahut hain magar, Jaan dene ki rut roz aati nahi.

 Husn aur ishq dono ko ruswa kare, Wo jawani jo khoon me nahati nahi.

Aaj dharti bani hai dulhan saathiyon, Ab tumhare hawale watan saathiyon…

On 13th August 2012, India opened a $12 million, government-backed laboratory whose mission is to create a new vaccine against HIV. The HIV Vaccine Translational Research Laboratory, which aims to recruit about 30 scientists, is embedded within the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, a $200 million facility under development on the outskirts of New Delhi. It will work in collaboration with the New York based-International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI); operating costs will be shared equally.