BRICS health ministers backed a network of mental-wellness centres with NIMHANS as its coordinating institution at their Chandigarh meeting on July 23, 2026, according to India's Health Ministry.
The proposed work combines collaborative research, policy discussion and mental-health promotion. Ministers also endorsed a training-hub network, connecting the research agenda with the people needed to deliver care.
That pairing addresses two different capacity needs: producing and sharing useful knowledge, and preparing a workforce able to apply it. WHO's Mental Health Gap Action Programme similarly focuses on expanding services where the gap between need and available care remains wide, particularly in lower-resource settings.
A specialist network can support this broader service task without becoming a substitute for local treatment. WHO's community-care guidance covers outreach, crisis services, peer support and community centres, illustrating the range of settings in which mental-health support must operate.
The training link is important because research expertise and day-to-day service capacity sit in different places. A coordinating institution can connect them by supporting the people who provide care in community and specialist settings.
