WHO welcomes strong health commitments at the 2026 BRICS Summit

Source: World Health Organization (WHO) | Original Published At: 2026-09-21 16:00:00 UTC

Key Points

• WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi.
• BRICS leaders reaffirmed commitments to resilient health systems, equitable access to health technologies, and sustainable health financing.
• WHO called for stronger investment in primary health care, pandemic preparedness, and local and regional production of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.
• The Summit endorsed new health cooperation mechanisms, including the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System and a strengthened Network of National Public Health Institutes.
• Leaders welcomed support for concluding negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
• The Summit highlighted digital health, research, artificial intelligence and international cooperation as tools to advance universal health coverage and pandemic preparedness.