India will host the Sixteenth BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting in Chandigarh as part of its BRICS Chairship 2026. The meeting matters for UPSC because it links Indian foreign policy, public health governance and digital health cooperation within a major multilateral forum.
What happened
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that the ministerial meeting will be held from 22–24 July 2026. Health Ministers and senior health officials from the eleven BRICS member countries will discuss health security, digital health, pandemic preparedness, equitable access to quality healthcare and resilient health systems.
Background and earlier position
India said the 2026 chairship continues its earlier BRICS chairships in 2012, 2016 and 2021. The health track has already been used to build cooperation on tuberculosis, medical products regulation, early warning systems, digital health architecture and public health institutions.
India also said that 26 technical meetings and expert consultations were convened from 15 April 2026 across the BRICS health priorities to build consensus before the ministerial meeting.
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