India chaired the First Health Working Group meeting under the BRICS framework for 2026 in New Delhi. Senior health officials, technical experts and delegates from BRICS member countries discussed priority areas of cooperation in public health. The meeting reflected India’s chairship theme, Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability, with emphasis on inclusive, future-ready and people-centric health cooperation.
India’s Chairship Priorities
India brought into light the need for evidence-driven and sustainable health collaboration among BRICS nations. The Health Working Group was presented as a platform to strengthen cooperation on communicable and non-communicable diseases, health systems, affordable medicines, pandemic preparedness and health technology innovation. India stressed adaptability, mutual learning and the use of collective expertise to design scalable health interventions.
New Focus Areas Proposed
India proposed two new priorities under its 2026 chairship:
- BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles, to promote healthy behaviour and reduce risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use and harmful alcohol consumption.
- Promotion of Mental Health and Wellness, to strengthen services, reduce stigma and integrate mental health into public health systems.
India also underlined the value of evidence-based traditional medicine, rooted in biodiversity and indigenous knowledge, as a contributor to universal health coverage and sustainable development.
Existing BRICS Health Cooperation Areas
The meeting reviewed nine priority areas under the BRICS Health Working Group:
- BRICS TB Research Network
- Cooperation among medical products regulators
- Integrated early warning system for infectious diseases
- Digital health architecture for continuum of care
- Healthy lifestyles mission
- Mental health and wellness
- Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine
- Diseases driven by social determinants of health
- BRICS Network of National Public Health Institutes
Consensus On Health Security
Member countries supported deeper cooperation on tuberculosis research, early warning systems, digital health access, regulatory harmonisation and local production of medicines and vaccines. They also backed universal health coverage, fair access to health technologies and stronger responses to diseases linked to social determinants of health. The meeting ended with agreement on priority deliverables and a roadmap for technical and ministerial-level engagements in 2026.
Last Modified: April 27, 2026