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The New Delhi Declaration of the 18th BRICS Summit welcomed the proposed BRICS Expert Working Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) under the BRICS Health Track.
It calls for joint research on medicinal plants and herbal preparations, and treats BRICS members' shared traditional pharmacopoeias as a base for safe, affordable therapeutic products.
It stresses quality, safety and efficacy through evidence-informed regulation, and links TCIM to Universal Health Coverage.
The group's Terms of Reference were agreed at the BRICS TCIM meeting in Chandigarh on 21 July 2026, under India's Chairship.
TCIM is WHO's umbrella term for traditional systems (such as Ayurveda), complementary practices and their integration with conventional care. UHC means everyone gets the quality health services they need without financial hardship. It is SDG target 3.8, measured by indicators 3.8.1 (service coverage) and 3.8.2 (financial hardship).
Nodal ministry for India's traditional systems of medicine. Evolved from the Department of ISM&H (1995), renamed Department of AYUSH (November 2003), became a ministry on 9 November 2014.
The world's first and only WHO global centre for traditional medicine. Host Country Agreement signed in Geneva on 25 March 2022; foundation stone laid by PM Modi on 19 April 2022, with WHO DG Tedros and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth present. Backed by about USD 250 million from India; interim office at ITRA, Jamnagar.
BRICS health cooperation strand. The first BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting was held in Beijing on 11 July 2011; the BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre was launched online on 22 March 2022. The TCIM Expert Working Group is proposed under this track.
Roadmap for safe, evidence-based integration of TCIM into health systems. Requested by the WHA in 2023 and adopted at the 78th World Health Assembly on 26 May 2025.
Key: Four objectives: strengthen evidence, ensure safety and regulation, integrate TCIM into health systems, and optimise its cross-sectoral value.
Held 17-18 August 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, co-hosted by WHO and India during India's G20 presidency.
Key: Its outcome document was the 'Gujarat Declaration'.
Held 17-19 December 2025 in New Delhi, co-hosted by WHO and India.
Key: Theme: 'Restoring balance: The science and practice of health and well-being'.
A structured mechanism for research, education, knowledge exchange and regulatory cooperation among BRICS members.
Key: Welcomed in the New Delhi Declaration (September 2026); Terms of Reference agreed at Chandigarh (July 2026).
GS Paper 2 > International Relations > Groupings (BRICS); Health
General Awareness > Summits and International Organisations
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Answer: 3 only
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Answer: 2 only
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Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine - WHO's umbrella term for traditional and complementary health systems and their integration with mainstream care.
An official compendium of standards for identifying, testing and assuring the quality of medicines, including herbal ones.
BRICS health cooperation strand, running since the first Health Ministers' Meeting in Beijing (2011).