Tuberculosis, obesity, mental health and access to safe medical products have emerged as major health priorities in the BRICS New Delhi Declaration, adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. The declaration places a strong emphasis on moving healthcare beyond treatment towards prevention, early detection and stronger primary healthcare systems. It also calls for greater cooperation among BRICS medical-product regulators, stronger disease surveillance and increased local production of medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.

The focus comes at a time when countries face a dual burden of infectious diseases and rapidly rising non-communicable diseases. Globally, an estimated 10.7 million people developed TB in 2024, while more than 1 billion people are now living with obesity. Mental health conditions, meanwhile, remain a major contributor to disability worldwide. 

The declaration therefore links disease prevention with health-system resilience, regulation, innovation and equitable access.

TB remains a critical BRICS health priority

The declaration identifies tuberculosis as a critical global public health challenge, calling for sustained investment in research, technology-sharing and cross-country learning to accelerate efforts to end TB. The scale of the challenge remains substantial. WHO estimates that 10.7 million people fell ill with TB in 2024 and 1.23 million died, including 150,000 people living with HIV. TB remains the world's leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. 

The BRICS declaration also recognises that infectious disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic threats do not respect national borders. It therefore calls for stronger surveillance, early-warning mechanisms and coordinated preparedness.

A dedicated BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for Mass Infectious Diseases has also been advanced through a new sub-working group.

For India, which continues to carry a substantial share of the global TB burden, the emphasis on rapid detection, research, technology and cross-country collaboration is particularly relevant.

Obesity and healthy lifestyles move higher up the agenda

BRICS leaders have also identified obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as major global health challenges. The declaration endorses a BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyle and a joint roadmap for healthy lifestyle promotion covering 2026-2029. It also calls for preventive and promotive healthcare involving governments, communities and other sectors rather than relying on healthcare facilities alone.

WHO estimates that 1 in 8 people globally were living with obesity in 2022. Adult obesity has more than doubled since 1990, while adolescent obesity has quadrupled.

This makes prevention increasingly important. Obesity is associated with conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and several cancers, making population-level interventions around diet, physical activity and healthier environments an important part of NCD prevention.

The declaration's whole-of-government approach also reflects the understanding that obesity cannot be addressed simply by telling individuals to lose weight. Food environments, physical activity, urban planning, education and access to healthcare all influence long-term health.

Mental health gets a stronger BRICS framework

Mental well-being has been recognised as another key pillar of health and sustainable development. The declaration supports the creation of a BRICS Training Hub Network and a Network of Centres of Excellence for mental health, with India's National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) serving as the coordinating Centre of Excellence.

The proposed network is expected to support collaborative research, policy dialogue, exchange of best practices and the development of evidence-based mental health strategies. It also aims to integrate mental well-being more sustainably into primary healthcare.

The declaration separately calls for timely and sustained mental health and psychosocial support for people affected by crises, particularly vulnerable groups such as children and adolescents.

This approach is consistent with WHO's broader push to integrate mental health into primary healthcare rather than treating it as a separate or specialised issue. WHO has also set a global target of expanding access to mental healthcare, alongside stronger national policies and primary-care systems for NCDs and mental health. 

Why medical product regulation matters

One of the most significant health provisions concerns medical-product regulation. BRICS leaders have called for stronger collaboration among the regulatory authorities of member countries and supported expanding an existing memorandum of understanding on medical-product regulation across the bloc.

The declaration also welcomes work on a BRICS GxP White Paper, intended to consolidate regulatory best practices and technical approaches. The objective is ultimately patient-facing: medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and medical devices need to be safe, effective, consistently manufactured and accessible.

WHO notes that around 70% of countries have inadequate or weak regulatory systems for effectively overseeing medicines and vaccines. Strong regulatory systems are essential for ensuring the quality, safety and efficacy of medical products and for detecting problems across their life cycle.

The BRICS push could therefore help countries share regulatory expertise, reduce duplication and strengthen oversight while supporting faster access to quality-assured products.

Local manufacturing and digital health

The declaration also links regulation with local production and health security. BRICS countries called for stronger health infrastructure and local production of medical products, alongside laboratory networks, surveillance systems, digital health and artificial intelligence.

The goal is not only greater self-reliance but also improved preparedness during future health emergencies, when disruptions to global supply chains can affect access to medicines, vaccines and diagnostics.

The declaration further supports cooperation on people-centred digital healthcare, including systems designed to improve continuity of care and access in remote areas.

What the declaration means for public health

Taken together, the health commitments signal a broader shift in the BRICS agenda: from responding to disease after it appears to preventing illness, detecting it earlier and building systems capable of delivering safe care at scale.

The emphasis also aligns with recent WHO priorities around primary healthcare, prevention, stronger regulation and universal health coverage. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently praised India's progress in bringing screening for hypertension, diabetes and common cancers closer to communities through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, while also highlighting India's efforts to end TB and strengthen medical-product regulation.

The BRICS New Delhi Declaration puts prevention, regulation and equitable access alongside disease-specific priorities such as TB, obesity and mental health. Its significance will ultimately depend on implementation: whether countries can translate shared commitments into stronger primary healthcare, better surveillance, safer medical products and earlier intervention. For India and other BRICS nations facing both infectious diseases and rising NCDs, that shift could be critical to building health systems that prevent illness rather than simply treating it.

Read More: BRICS Leaders On Obesity: Why The Growing Health Crisis Needs Urgent Action



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