Mental wellness: NIMHANS to be nodal body for BRICS Centres of Excellence
The New Delhi Declaration at the 18th BRICS Summit named Bengaluru’s NIMHANS as the coordinating centre for a new network of mental health training hubs and Centres of Excellence across BRICS nations. The agreement also outlines joint governance, primary‑care integration and support for vulnerable groups, alongside broader health‑lifestyle initiatives.
- ✓The New Delhi Declaration at the 18th BRICS Summit named Bengaluru’s NIMHANS as the coordinating centre for a new network of mental health training hubs and Centres of Excellence across BRICS nations.
- ✓The agreement also outlines joint governance, primary‑care integration and support for vulnerable groups, alongside broader health‑lifestyle initiatives.
- ✓Civic Domain: Categorized under health public notices.
The 18th BRICS Summit concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration, which designates the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru as the nodal body for a network of training hubs and Centres of Excellence (CoEs) focused on mental health. The declaration highlights the network’s role in fostering collaborative research, policy dialogue, and the co‑development of evidence‑based mental‑wellness strategies among the six BRICS countries.
According to the declaration, a designated group of representatives from each BRICS member state will jointly oversee the network, ensuring balanced decision‑making and shared accountability. The framework calls for the integration of mental‑well‑being into primary healthcare, the provision of timely and sustained mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) interventions for vulnerable populations—particularly children and adolescents—and the launch of the BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle together with a 2026‑29 Roadmap for Healthy Lifestyle Promotion. It also welcomes a Compendium of Replicable Best Practices and proposes a BRICS Expert Working Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) to coordinate research on medicinal plants and herbal preparations.
The initiative comes as BRICS nations grapple with rising mental‑health challenges exacerbated by crises and the growing burden of non‑communicable diseases. By leveraging NIMHANS’s expertise, the network aims to strengthen mental‑health services across member states, promote best‑practice exchange, and ensure the safety and efficacy of TCIM approaches through evidence‑informed standards. Stakeholders ranging from health ministries to community providers are expected to benefit from the coordinated effort, which seeks to embed mental‑wellness more firmly within primary care systems throughout the BRICS bloc.
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| Issuing Authority | The Indian Express National |
|---|---|
| Topic Category | HEALTH |
| Jurisdiction | KA State |
| Publication Date | 12 September 2026 |