Nadda to Lay Foundation Stone for ICMR’s First High-Altitude Health Research Centre in Keylong

The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research (ICMR-CHAMP) is being established under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to strengthen research, innovation, and healthcare capacity in high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions.

Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will lay the foundation stone for the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) first dedicated high-altitude medicine and public health research center in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti district, on October 12.

The ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research (ICMR-CHAMP) is being established under the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to strengthen research, innovation, and healthcare capacity in high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions.

The center will study public health challenges associated with extreme weather, geographical isolation, difficult terrain, and climate variability. These factors influence disease patterns, healthcare access, occupational health, and emergency medical response across Himalayan communities.

Its research agenda will cover high-altitude physiology and acclimatization, mountain medicine, infectious and noncommunicable diseases, emerging climate-sensitive illnesses, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health, and disaster medicine.

Digital health technologies will also form part of the center’s research activities. These will include telemedicine, digital health platforms, drone-enabled healthcare logistics, and real-time public health surveillance to improve healthcare delivery in remote and hard-to-reach areas.

Located in a strategically important border region, ICMR-CHAMP will facilitate sustained field research involving high-altitude and tribal populations. Long-term studies will examine the relationship between environmental conditions, climate variability, and health outcomes.

The center will collaborate with the Armed Forces Medical Services, national research institutions, and the Himachal Pradesh government to support translational research, scientific exchange, capacity building, and evidence-based policymaking. Its work is expected to contribute to tribal healthcare, disaster preparedness, and the development of climate-resilient health systems.

The foundation stone ceremony will include a traditional Bhumi Pujan, the groundbreaking, and the unveiling of the foundation stone. A scientific exhibition, the center’s institutional video and website, and a commemorative postal special cover will also be launched. Native Himalayan saplings will be planted under the Green ICMR Campus Initiative.

Union Minister of State for Defence Sanjay Seth, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut, Lahaul and Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana, and former MLA Ravi Thakur are among those scheduled to attend.

Senior officials from the Department of Health Research, ICMR, the Armed Forces Medical Services, and state and central government departments, along with scientists and public health experts, are also expected to participate.

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