Need to Establish Reference Laboratory for HIV/AIDS Research in Tanzania

As a young man, amongst many in Tanzania, I lost my uncle in 1997 to the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). At that point, I promised myself that I would train as a physician in order to fight against the AIDS. The year 2006 cemented further this resolution of mine, when my beloved neighbour died of HIV/ AIDS followed by his wife and two children in a single year, providing a tragic vision of my neighbour's garden turning into a graveyard, seemingly overnight. As I was still mourning the loss of my neighbour and his family I was struck by a third loss which is indelible from my memory, my best friend, classmate and colleague died of HIV/AIDS in our final year of medical school. It was so painful because he never disclosed to me that he was HIV- infected as he was scared of the associated stigmatisation. This was the greatest tragedy of our college life and I found myself committing further and stronger to my dedication against HIV/AIDS.