BRICS backs mental health network with NIMHANS as coordinating centre

The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the ongoing 18th BRICS Summit has backed the creation of a network of training hubs and Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for mental health, with the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) serving as the coordinating centre.

The declaration envisages the network as a platform for collaborative research, policy dialogue, the exchange of best practices and the joint development of evidence-based strategies to promote mental health across BRICS countries.

Governance of the network will rest with a designated group of representatives from each member state, a arrangement intended to ensure balanced decision-making and shared accountability. The aim is scientific and technical cooperation that allows mental well-being to be integrated into primary healthcare in a sustainable and scalable manner.

The declaration also welcomed a Compendium of Best Practices on Promotion of Mental Wellness. It stressed the need to address the mental health consequences of crises and committed to timely, accessible and sustained mental health and psycho-social (MHPSS) interventions for affected populations, particularly people in vulnerable situations such as children and adolescents.

Beyond mental health, the declaration turned to the emerging challenges of non-communicable diseases. It endorsed the launch of a BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and a BRICS Roadmap for the Joint Initiative on Healthy Lifestyle Promotion covering 2026-29, and welcomed a Compendium of Replicable Best Practices on Healthy Lifestyle.

The declaration further recognised the growing relevance of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM). It welcomed the proposed establishment of a BRICS Expert Working Group on TCIM under the BRICS Health Track as a platform for dialogue, collaboration and exchange among member states.

That platform is expected to coordinate research on medicinal plants and herbal preparations for therapeutic and preventive uses, with emphasis on ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of TCIM practices and products through an evidence-informed approach.