India Brings BRICS Health Leaders to Chandigarh to Advance Digital Health & AI Collaboration
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Ministers are expected to deliberate on regional and global public health priorities before considering the adoption of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Declaration.
India is hosting the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' meet in Chandigarh from July 22 to 24, bringing together health ministers, senior officials and technical experts from the 11-member BRICS bloc to deepen collaboration on digital health, artificial intelligence, health security, pandemic preparedness and universal access to quality healthcare under its BRICS Chairship 2026.
The programme began with a Senior Officials' Meeting to finalise the draft ministerial declaration, followed by the Health Ministers' Meeting chaired by Union Health Minister JP Nadda.
Ministers are expected to deliberate on regional and global public health priorities before considering the adoption of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' Declaration.
The final day will feature a high-level dialogue titled "BRICS Dialogue: From Digital Health Records to AI-Enabled Healthcare - Strengthening the Continuum of Care through Interoperable Data Infrastructure and Responsible Artificial Intelligence."
The discussions will examine how interoperable digital health infrastructure and responsible AI can improve continuity of care and support the development of future-ready health systems across BRICS countries.
Ahead of the ministerial meeting, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava said the gathering reflects India's commitment to advancing collective action on global health priorities under the theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".
She added that discussions would focus on health security, pandemic preparedness, digital health, innovation, affordable medicines, traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine, tuberculosis, healthy lifestyles, mental wellness, and resilient health systems, while supporting the goal of universal health coverage.
"The 16th BRICS Health Ministers' meeting comes at a time when countries across the world are working to balance the rising healthcare demands, equitable access to quality healthcare, resilient health systems and the need to accelerate progress towards the health-related sustainable development goals," she said.
India has also introduced two new focus areas during its BRICS Chairship: BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and Promotion of Mental Wellness, while retaining existing priorities.
The broader BRICS Health Track now covers nine areas, including the BRICS TB Research Network, Digital Health Architecture for Continuum of Care, an integrated early warning system for infectious diseases, regulatory collaboration, public health institutes and traditional medicine.
Since April this year, India has convened 26 technical meetings and expert consultations to build consensus ahead of the ministerial discussions.
The outcomes of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers' meet are expected to strengthen international cooperation in digital health, innovation and resilient healthcare systems while reinforcing BRICS' role in advancing the health priorities of the Global South and accelerating progress towards universal health coverage.
The BRICS grouping has steadily expanded its health agenda over the past decade, evolving from a platform for policy dialogue into one that promotes practical collaboration on disease surveillance, regulatory harmonisation, research and digital innovation.
With the bloc now comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, it represents nearly half of the world's population and about 40 per cent of global GDP, making its collective health initiatives increasingly significant for global healthcare.
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