TB, obesity, mental health emerge as key health priorities in BRICS New Delhi Declaration 

Tuberculosis (TB), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have emerged as key areas of focus in the BRICS’ New Delhi Declaration, with member countries calling for greater investment in research, technology sharing, disease surveillance and preventive healthcare.

The Declaration recognised TB as a critical global public health challenge while underscoring the need for stronger international cooperation to tackle disease outbreaks. It welcomed the establishment of a dedicated sub-working group to advance the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for the prevention and response to mass infectious diseases. The system is aimed at facilitating the exchange of best practices in disease surveillance and outbreak response; and promoting coordinated action to enhance early detection and rapid response to epidemic-prone infectious diseases across BRICS countries.

Mental health emerged as another major area of cooperation, with BRICS supporting the establishment of a Training Hub Network and a Network of Centres of Excellence (CoE). The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru will serve as the coordinating Centre of Excellence.

The CoE will serve as a platform to facilitate collaborative research and the development of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies across BRICS countries. An official said that a designated group of representatives from each BRICS Member State will jointly govern the coordination of the Network of CoEs, ensuring balanced decision making and shared accountability to achieve deep scientific and technical cooperation thereby ensuring the integration of mental well-being into primary healthcare.

BRICS countries have agreed to deepen cooperation in medical product regulation. The move is aimed at strengthening collaborative regulatory approaches and ensuring continued availability and accessibility of quality, safe and efficacious medical products.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has praised the New Delhi Declaration adopted by the BRICS nations during the BRICS Summit 2026.

In a post on X, Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I very much appreciate the BRICS Leaders’ strong support for WHO and multilateralism, and the commitment, as reflected in the declaration, to universal health coverage, resilient health systems, the successful conclusion of negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex to the Pandemic Agreement, efforts to End TB, strengthening the health workforce, digital health, the integration of traditional medicine, and delivering Health for All.”