1) HIV/AIDS continues to be a major global public health challenge, with around 1.6 million deaths and 2.3 million new infections in 2012. An effective HIV vaccine is considered the best solution to ending the pandemic. 2) While treatment and prevention efforts have helped address illness and death from HIV/AIDS, it remains one of the leading infectious diseases worldwide, especially impacting developing countries. Close to 4 million people in India are currently infected. 3) Significant breakthroughs in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment have been made in recent years, but an efficient vaccine is still needed, along with continued funding for medical research and new drug development.