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1st BRICS Health Working Group Meeting 2026

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  • Venue: New Delhi (Virtual), 15th April, 2026. 

  • Host: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

  • Participants: The meeting brought together senior health officials, technical experts, and delegates from BRICS member countries- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia to deliberate on priority areas of cooperation in public health.

  • Key Details: 

    • Aims to foster inclusive, sustainable, and evidence-driven health cooperation, while recognising the diverse health systems and socio-economic contexts of BRICS nations. 

  • Nine priority areas:  Identified under the BRICS Health Working Group, reflecting a comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressing public health challenges. These include: 

    • BRICS TB Research Network; 

    • Collaboration among BRICS Medical Products Regulatory Authorities;

    • BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for prevention and response to mass infectious diseases; 

    • Digital Health Architecture for continuum of care, including specialised healthcare in remote areas; 

    • Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM); 

    • Fight against diseases driven by social determinants of health (DDSDH); and 

    • BRICS Network of National Public Health Institutes.

    • BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles; 

    • Promotion of mental health and wellness; 

  • Two new priority areas under India’s Chairship:

    • BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles,

      • Aimed at promoting healthy behaviours and addressing key risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol; and

    • Promotion of Mental Health and Wellness,

      • Focusing on strengthening mental health services, addressing stigma, and integrating mental health into broader public health frameworks.





18th BRICS Summit

  • Theme: "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability"

    • The theme was articulated in 2025 by PM Modi at 17th BRICS Summit. 

  • Logo: 

    • The BRICS logo for India’s Chairship beautifully blends tradition with modernity. 

    • The petals radiate the vibrant colors of all BRICS member countries, highlighting their collective strength and unity.

    • At the centre, the graceful “Namaste” gesture captures India’s timeless spirit of warmth, respect, and harmonious collaboration.

  • Key Pillars for India’s BRICS Chairship

    • Resilience

    • Innovation

    • Cooperation

    • Sustainability 

  • BRICS Sherpa: Sudhakar Dalela 

  • BRICS Sous Sherpa: Shambhu L. Hakki 

  • This year, India is chairing BRICS for the 4th time (2012, 2016, 2021). 

 

BRICS

  • 2006- Formalised at first VRIC Foreign Ministers Meeting

  • 2009- First BRIC Summit

  • 2011- South Africa joins BRICS

  • 2024- 5 new members join

  • 2025- 1 new member and 10 new partner countries join

  • Members: 11 Countries- Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

  • Significance:

    • 49.5% Population, 

    • 26% Trade 

    • 40% GDP

  • Three core pillars: 
    • Political and security cooperation, 
    • Economic and financial cooperation, and 
    • People-to-people exchanges. 

  • Note: 17th BRICS summit - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

Source: BRICS 

PYQ

RPSC Sr. Teacher (Sec. Edu.) Comp. Exam, 2024 (7-9-2025)

Que .Which one of the following statements is not correct regarding the BRICS?

  1. Brazil assumed the BRICS chairship on 1st January, 2025.
  2. The theme of the BRICS Summit–2025 was “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for more Inclusive and Sustainable Governance.”
  3. India organised 13th BRICS Summit in 2021.
  4. The theme and approach for BRICS Summit–2021 was “BRICS@21 : Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus”.
  5. Question not attempted