Chandigarh

Underscoring the importance of strengthening collaboration among BRICS nations, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Wednesday said India's chairship theme assumes significance in the evolving global health landscape, where interconnected health challenges call for cooperation among nations.

As part of its BRICS chairship 2026, India is hosting the sixteenth BRICS Health Ministers' meeting here from July 22-24, bringing together Health Ministers and senior health officials from the bloc countries to deepen cooperation on health security, digital health, and pandemic preparedness.

The Senior officials' meeting, inaugurated on Wednesday by Srivastava, emphasised the need for stronger multilateral cooperation to achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Srivastava said India's BRICS chairship theme, "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", assumes greater significance in the evolving global health landscape, where interconnected health challenges call for collective action among nations.

BRICS is a multilateral organisation comprising eleven major emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Earlier during a Yoga session in the morning, she said that Yoga has gained immense recognition worldwide and asserted that it can play a significant role in preventing lifestyle-related diseases.

The deliberations during the Senior Officials' meeting focused on finalising the BRICS Health Ministerial Declaration.

Senior officials held detailed discussions on the key priority areas under the BRICS Health Track, reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation in addressing common public health challenges, an official statement said.

The discussions covered priority areas, including strengthening primary healthcare, advancing Universal Health Coverage, addressing antimicrobial resistance, strengthening pharmaceutical cooperation, and fostering collaboration in traditional medicine and health research.

The participating countries reiterated the importance of collaborative research, knowledge sharing, capacity building and technology exchange in advancing resilient and equitable health systems.

Highlighting the importance of the expanded BRICS grouping, she said the bloc, representing a significant share of the world's population, scientific expertise and manufacturing capacity, provides an opportunity to shape the future of global health.

India has identified nine priority areas under the BRICS Health Track, she said.

These focus on strengthening health infrastructure, enhancing preparedness for future health emergencies through robust surveillance systems and laboratory networks, leveraging digital health technologies, integrating traditional medicine into healthcare systems, strengthening regulatory frameworks, developing a skilled health workforce, promoting collaborative research and ensuring timely, affordable and equitable access to healthcare services.

Srivastava further highlighted India's flagship initiatives under the BRICS Health Track, the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and the proposed BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence for Mental Health, which reinforce the collective commitment of the bloc countries towards addressing emerging public health challenges.

Referring to the draft BRICS Health Ministers' Declaration, Srivastava expressed confidence that the deliberations during the Senior Officials' Meeting held here would help build consensus on the remaining provisions of the declaration, paving the way for its adoption at the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting.

She also emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation in nuclear medicine and supporting the activities of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, reaffirming the shared commitment of BRICS nations towards global health security.

On Wednesday morning, Srivastava was among those who joined a Yoga session, in which delegates from the participating countries also took part on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting.

Representatives from 21 countries taking part in the BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting took part in a Yoga session, which Srivastava termed "important" as under the BRICS agenda, there is a track related to healthy lifestyles while another one is on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.

She said June 21 was declared as the International Yoga Day by the United Nations General Assembly due to India's efforts.

"Yoga has gained immense recognition worldwide...Yoga can play a significant role in preventing emerging non-communicable and lifestyle-related diseases," she said.

On Tuesday, India successfully hosted the BRICS meeting on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) here, as part of its BRICS 2026 chairship. The meeting formed part of the broader four-day programme of BRICS Health Track events in Chandigarh, jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Ayush.

Srivastava said the draft ministerial declaration will be finalised by the secretaries' meeting on Wednesday, followed by the Health Ministers' Meeting chaired by Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Thursday.

The ministers will deliberate on key global and regional public health priorities and consider the adoption of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Declaration.

Notably, the four-day programme also features a range of wellness-related and cultural activities showcasing India's holistic healthcare traditions.

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Srivastava also inaugurated the exhibition pavilions of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the National Health Authority (NHA) and the Ministry of AYUSH.