Mental wellness: NIMHANS to be nodal body for BRICS Centres of Excellence

The 18th BRICS Summit's New Delhi Declaration announced plans to create a network of mental health centers of excellence (CoEs) with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru serving as the coordinating center. The declaration stated that the network would facilitate collaborative research, policy dialogue, and the exchange of best practices in mental health promotion strategies across BRICS countries.

A designated group of representatives from each BRICS nation will jointly govern the network, ensuring balanced decision-making and shared accountability. The declaration also emphasized the importance of addressing mental health consequences of crises and providing timely, accessible, and sustained mental health and psycho-social interventions to affected populations, particularly children and adolescents.

Additionally, the declaration highlighted the growing relevance of traditional and integrative medicine, with the establishment of a BRICS Expert Working Group on TCIM under the BRICS Health Track. This platform would coordinate research on medicinal plants and herbal preparations for therapeutic and preventive uses, ensuring quality, safety, and efficacy through an evidence-informed approach.