New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) India on Wednesday offered to share its expertise in primary healthcare, digital health and public health infrastructure with BIMSTEC countries as the grouping's first Health Ministers' Meeting in Colombo unanimously adopted a joint ministerial statement and a revised public health action plan for 2026-2030.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda, who represented India at the meeting, highlighted the country's healthcare initiatives and said regional cooperation was essential to improve access to quality healthcare and strengthen preparedness against emerging health threats.
The meeting brought together health ministers and senior representatives from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, a health ministry statement said.
The joint statement reaffirmed the member countries' commitment to universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3, with focus on disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, digital health, traditional medicine, climate-related health responses and healthcare workforce development.
The revised plan envisages cooperation in disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, digital health, traditional medicine and "One Health", the statement said.
It also proposes exploring a BIMSTEC Digital Health Framework covering telemedicine, interoperable electronic health records and the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostics and disease modelling.
"Nadda announced that India will host a BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar," the statement said.
The centre will facilitate collaborative research, academic exchanges, capacity building and sharing of traditional medicine practices, besides promoting evidence-based approaches and quality and safety standards.
The minister highlighted India's more than 1.85 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, coverage of over 60 crore people under AB PM-JAY and more than 50 crore teleconsultations through eSanjeevani.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Nadda held bilateral discussions with Sri Lanka's Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, during which an MoU was exchanged for 100 additional fully equipped ambulances to Sri Lanka's 1990 Suwa Seriya emergency ambulance service.
The initiative will be supported through Indian grant assistance of SLR 1,725.73 million, approximately USD 5.28 million.
India also announced support for 50 Medical Kiosks/Health ATMs in Sri Lanka, involving grant assistance of up to SLR 225 million. The kiosks will be deployed at Arogya Primary Health Centres to provide point-of-care diagnostics integrated with telemedicine facilities.
Nadda also met Nepal's Health Minister Neesha Mehta and discussed strengthening bilateral and regional healthcare cooperation.
The BIMSTEC health ministers' meetings and senior officials' meetings will be held every two years, with Thailand offering to host the second ministerial meeting in 2028.
"No country should be left behind in its pursuit of better health outcomes," Nadda said.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)