First BRICS Health Working Group Meeting 2026

Source:  PIB

Subject:  International Relations

Context: The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare hosted the First BRICS Health Working Group (HWG) Meeting 2026 in New Delhi to deliberate on collaborative strategies for global health security.

About First BRICS Health Working Group Meeting 2026:

What it is?

• The BRICS Health Working Group (HWG) is a specialized platform under the BRICS framework. It serves as a forum for senior health officials and technical experts to coordinate on public health challenges, harmonize regulations, and share evidence-based policy interventions.

Host: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India (New Delhi).

Theme: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. This reflects a People-Centric and Humanity-First approach.

Aim:

• To foster inclusive and sustainable health cooperation among member nations.
• To strengthen collaborative frameworks for pandemic preparedness and health technology innovation.
• To leverage collective expertise for scalable health interventions and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Key Features:

The meeting identified nine priority areas, including two significant new pillars introduced by India:

• New Priority Areas (India’s Initiative):
  1. BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles: Addressing risk factors like unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco, and alcohol.
  2. Promotion of Mental Health and Wellness: Strengthening services, reducing stigma, and integrating mental health into public health frameworks.
• Continuing Strategic Focus:

• 1. BRICS TB Research Network: Ongoing collaboration to eliminate Tuberculosis.
  2. Evidence-Based Traditional Medicine: Promoting Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) rooted in biodiversity.
  3. Digital Health Architecture: Focus on continuum of care and specialized healthcare for remote areas.
  4. Regulatory Cooperation: Collaboration among Medical Products Regulatory Authorities to ensure equitable access to vaccines and medicines.
  5. Early Warning Systems: Integrated systems for preventing and responding to mass infectious diseases.
  6. Network of Public Health Institutes: Strengthening the BRICS Network of National Public Health Institutes.
  7. Social Determinants: Fighting diseases driven by social determinants of health (DDSDH).

Significance:

• By building an Integrated Early Warning System, the group bolsters the world’s defense against future pandemics.
• Focuses on the local production of medicines and vaccines, ensuring that health technologies are not restricted to wealthy nations.