Chandigarh: Recognising mental health as an integral component of universal health coverage, the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ meeting here on Thursday supported the establishment of centres of excellence for mental wellness, with NIMHANS, Bengaluru, as the coordinating centre.The member countries also endorsed the creation of a BRICS training hub network to strengthen workforce capacity through training, knowledge exchange and sharing of best practices.The network will facilitate collaborative research, policy dialogue and the development of evidence-based mental health promotion strategies across BRICS countries.The 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ meeting is being held here under India’s chairship from July 22-24.A major outcome of the meeting of health ministers on Thursday was the unanimous adoption of the ‘health ministerial declaration’, reflecting the shared commitment of BRICS countries to deepen health cooperation and strengthen resilient, equitable and people-centric health systems, officials said.The health ministers and senior health officials from South Africa, Indonesia, Belarus, Egypt, Iran and Russia were among those who took part in the ministerial meeting on Thursday.Recognising mental health as an essential pillar of universal coverage, Union Health Minister J P Nadda, who addressed the meeting virtually, announced the establishment of the BRICS Network of Centres of Excellence on Mental Wellness, to be coordinated by NIMHANS, to strengthen research, promote mental well-being and narrow treatment gaps across the member countries.Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel and Ayush Minister Prataprao Jadhav were present at the meeting, which reaffirmed the importance of promoting traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) through evidence generation, collaborative research and knowledge exchange, an official statement said.The member countries welcomed the proposed establishment of an expert working group on TCIM under the BRICS Health Track, and endorsed its terms of reference, recognising it as an important platform for dialogue, collaboration and sharing of best practices among BRICS countries, it said.The health ministers also endorsed the BRICS operational framework to fight Diseases Driven by Social Determinants of Health (DD-SDH) as a collaborative platform to strengthen collective action towards health equity, universal health coverage and sustainable development goals.They also endorsed the operational framework for the BRICS network of National Public Health Institutes (NPHIs) to advance institutional collaboration through knowledge exchange, evidence-based policymaking, capacity building and technical cooperation, the statement said.The delegates also reaffirmed their support for the BRICS vaccine research and development centre to strengthen collaborative research and improve equitable access to safe and effective vaccines, it said.The visiting health ministers later visited the various exhibition pavilions set up at the meeting venue, showcasing India’s initiatives in digital health, traditional medicine, food safety and healthy lifestyles.The member countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening resilient health systems, advancing universal health coverage, enhancing pandemic preparedness and response, promoting digital health, expanding access to affordable and quality healthcare, and deepening cooperation in research, innovation and capacity building.BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation that has been expanded to 11 full member countries now – Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE.
