Union Health Secretary highlights nine priority areas, digital health, traditional medicine and equitable access to healthcare

Chandigarh, 22 July (H.S.): The Senior Officials’ Meeting under the ongoing BRICS Health Ministerial Meeting was held in Chandigarh on Wednesday as part of India’s BRICS Chairship. The deliberations focused on finalising the BRICS Health Ministers’ Declaration and strengthening cooperation among member countries to address emerging global public health challenges.

The meeting was inaugurated by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, who welcomed delegates and stressed the need for stronger cooperation, innovation and equitable access to healthcare. She said Chandigarh’s emphasis on innovation, sustainability and planned development reflected India’s BRICS Chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”

Srivastava said the theme had become increasingly relevant as global health challenges were becoming more complex and interconnected. She underlined that collective action, shared responsibility and coordinated responses were necessary to build resilient and inclusive health systems.

Highlighting the significance of the expanded BRICS grouping, she said the bloc represented a major share of the world’s population, scientific expertise and manufacturing capacity. This, she added, offered a significant opportunity to influence the future of global health through innovation and consensus-based solutions.

India has identified nine priority areas under the BRICS Health Track. These include strengthening health infrastructure, improving preparedness for future health emergencies through surveillance systems and laboratory networks, promoting digital health technologies, integrating traditional medicine into healthcare systems, strengthening regulatory frameworks and developing a skilled health workforce.

The priorities also include collaborative research and development, timely access to healthcare services and ensuring the availability of affordable medicines and medical products.

The Union Health Secretary also highlighted India’s flagship proposals under the BRICS Health Track, including the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and the proposed BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence for Mental Health. She said these initiatives would promote preventive healthcare, specialised care, knowledge sharing and cooperation in tackling new public health challenges.

Referring to the draft BRICS Health Ministers’ Declaration, Srivastava said it reflected the collective vision of member states and the outcome of extensive technical consultations. She expressed confidence that the Senior Officials’ Meeting would help resolve the remaining issues and pave the way for adoption of the declaration at the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting.

She also called for greater cooperation in nuclear medicine and support for the activities of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre.

During the event, Srivastava inaugurated exhibition pavilions set up by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, National Health Authority and Ministry of AYUSH. The exhibits showcased India’s initiatives in food safety, digital health, traditional medicine and integrated healthcare.

The discussions covered primary healthcare, Universal Health Coverage, antimicrobial resistance, pharmaceutical cooperation, affordable medical products, public health emergency preparedness and health research. Member countries reiterated the importance of collaborative research, capacity building, technology exchange and stronger multilateral cooperation to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH