During a summit in New Delhi on September 12, 2026, leaders of the BRICS group—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—announced a renewed commitment to strengthen cooperation in disease surveillance and medical product regulation. They highlighted the need for integrated early warning systems and faster sharing of information to protect global health.
The leaders welcomed the creation of a dedicated sub‑working group tasked with advancing a BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for mass infectious diseases. They underscored the importance of resilient surveillance, early warning mechanisms, and rapid response, citing the World Health Organization and the amended International Health Regulations (2005) as guiding frameworks.
The declaration called for closer collaboration among BRICS medical‑product regulatory authorities, extending an existing memorandum of understanding to all member states. It praised the development of a BRICS GxP white paper that consolidates best regulatory practices. The leaders also stressed the need to strengthen domestic health infrastructure, promote local production of medical products, and leverage digital health and artificial intelligence.
Additional commitments included support for the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, collaboration in nuclear medicine, and the promotion of the BRICS Health Journal. The leaders reaffirmed their dedication to people‑centred digital healthcare systems and the BRICS Compendium on Digital Health Architecture, aiming to improve access to care in remote areas and advance universal health coverage.
