The following is the
text of the Delhi Communiqué issued
today at the end of the two-day 6th BRICS Health Ministers’ meet:
1. The
BRICS countries, represented by the Ministers of Health of the Federative
Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, Republic of India, People's
Republic of China and Republic of South Africa, met in New Delhi on 16 December
2016 at the Sixth BRICS Health Ministers Meeting.
2. Recalled the previous
BRICS Health Ministers declarations and joint communiqués in which
they committed to strengthen intra-BRICS cooperation to promote health,
acknowledged the renewed commitment to health by the BRICS leaders as expressed
in the Goa Declaration of October 2016, noted the progress made since the first
BRICS Summit and resolved to continue cooperation in the sphere of health
through the Technical Working Groups and the "BRICS Framework for
Collaboration on Strategic Projects in Health".
3. Welcomed
the recommendations made in the BRICS workshop on drugs and medical devices in
Goa, India in November 2016, including the need for concluding a Memorandum Moscow
Declaration of the BRICS’ Health Ministers meeting in October 2015, Brazilian
Communiqué of the BRICS Health Ministers Meetings in Brasilia on 5th December
2014 and Beijing and Delhi Declaration and the Cape Town Communiqué of the
BRICS Health Ministers Meetings in 2011 and 2013 and the Joint Communiqué of
the BRICS Health Ministers in Geneva on 20th May 2013 on the sidelines of the
66th session of the World Health Assembly and the Joint Communiqués of BRICS
Member States on Health issued on the sidelines of the 67th, 68th
and 69th World Health Assemblies in May 2014, May 2015 and May 2016
respectively.
of
Understanding on regulatory collaboration with a view to improving the
regulatory standards, certification and systems for medical products.
4. Agreed
to constitute a working group, to work on strengthening regulatory systems,
sharing of information, appropriate regulatory approaches in case of
international and national health emergencies and provide recommendations for
the promotion of research and development of innovative medical products
(drugs, vaccines and medical technologies). Supported promoting existing IT
platform and regulatory capacity building through an institutional development
plan for BRICS countries.
5. Noted that BRICS countries
face challenges of communicable diseases including HIV and Tuberculosis and
vector borne diseases including Malaria. Noted the efforts made by BRICS
countries to achieve the 90–90–90 HIV treatment target by 2020 and agreed to
make efforts to enhance access to HIV diagnostics and treatment especially to
key populations with increased risk of acquiring HIV and exchange experiences
of community-based actions to fight HIV/AIDS. Underlined the imperative to
advance cooperation and action on research on HIV, TB and Malaria in the BRICS
countries, including in the development and production of quality-assured
drugs, diagnostics and vaccines.
6. Adopted
the BRICS TB Cooperation Plan and supported the
recommendations made by the BRICS workshop on HIV and Tuberculosis, held in
Ahmedabad, India in November 2016, including the need for the suggested
political, technical and financial actions to address the public health
challenges of TB and HIV among BRICS countries. Agreed to the setting up of a
BRICS network on TB Research and creation of a research and
development consortium on TB, HIV and Malaria including the possibility of
international fund raising. Also agreed to support
the Global Ministerial Conference on the fight against TB to be held in Moscow
in 2017 and the UN High-Level Meeting on TB at United Nations Headquarters in
2018.
7. Emphasized
the importance of continued cooperation among BRICS countries in promoting
research and development of medicines and diagnostic tools to end epidemics
including through promoting innovative and sustainable models for health
R&D financing and coordination and to facilitate access to safe, effective,
quality and affordable medicines, including generic medicines, biological
products, and diagnostics.
8.
Noted the current global threat of non-communicable diseases (NCDs),
agreed to make collaborative efforts to achieve the target of reduction in
premature mortality due to NCDs by one-third by the year 2030 as per SDG Target
3.4 and renewed commitment for an effective response to such threat, including
through development of cost-effective
diagnostics, medicines, technologies and behavioural change strategies required
for management of key NCDs, sharing
systems for monitoring, surveillance, evaluation and operational research in
NCDs and their risk factors, and sharing
training programs for various categories of health care personnel in identified
areas for capacity building to diagnose and manage NCDs.
9. Appreciated
India for a successful organization of the seventh session of the Conference of
the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, in November
2016. Renewed their commitment to the Convention, both as a public health
treaty and as a Goal under Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development,
particularly Goal 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at
all ages. To promote better implementation of the Convention, they stressed the
importance of continued research and study by WHO and other stakeholders into
the social and economic determinants of tobacco use in all its forms and other
products promoting tobacco use as well as the strategies for their control.
10. Recognized
that an effective health surveillance is key to controlling both communicable
and noncommunicable diseases and eliminating immuno-preventable diseases such
as measles, rubella and polio, and that the countries may be using different
models for surveillance based on different realities and best practices.
Welcomed the recommendations of the BRICS Workshop on “Strengthening Health
Surveillance: System and Best Practices” held at Bengaluru, India in August
2016. Expressed commitment to strengthen cooperation in the mechanisms for
planning, monitoring and evaluating disease prevention and control activities
and capacity-building through surveillance workshops on epidemic prone
diseases, NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, mental
health disorders, injury prevention, disaster management (including post
disaster surveillance), environmental health and occupational health, as well
as HIV/AIDS and TB.
11.
Acknowledged that Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) is a serious global
public health issue and emphasized the need to implement the WHO’s Global
Action Plan on AMR and National Plans in this regard, addressing issues of
equity, affordability and sustainable access to existing and new
antimicrobials, as well of mobilizing necessary technical and financial
resources for implementation. Welcomed the recommendations from the High Level
meeting on Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) during UNGA-71, which addresses the
serious challenge that AMR poses to public health. Agreed to cooperate through
the AMR focal points, regulatory authorities and relevant cross sectors, with
a view to share best practices and discuss challenges, as well as identifying
potential areas for convergence, such as surveillance, strategies for rational
use of antibiotics, strategies to address shortages of first line antibiotics
and vaccines, infection prevention and control, strategies for preventing
inappropriate use of antibiotics in agricultural sector based on scientific
evidence, strengthening research collaboration across sectors and disciplines
in the field of AMR as well as enhancing lab activities for quick testing of
drug resistance for different pathogens.
12. Noted the successful
organization of BRICS Wellness Workshop by Government of India during 10-11
September, 2016 at Bengaluru and the fruitful discussions for cooperation in
the area of Traditional medicines. Agreed to convene the BRICS High-level Forum
on Traditional Medicine in China in 2017.
13.
Acknowledged the value and importance of traditional and alternative
systems of medicine as a means of achieving holistic healthcare, and the need
of experience and knowledge-sharing for securing public health needs in this
regard.
14. Recognized
that promoting access to medicines and vaccines, in particular essential
medicines, that are affordable, safe, efficacious, and of quality, is
imperative for the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health. In this context, welcomed the report
of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, to
review and assess proposals and recommended solutions for remedying the policy
incoherence between the justifiable rights of inventors, international human
rights law, trade rules and public health in the context of health
technologies, while looking forward to discussions and follow-up of the Panel`s
report, through WHO and other relevant UN agencies and international organizations.
15. Reiterated
their resolve to promote access to medicines including through the full use of
TRIPS flexibilities and to promote these in the bilateral and regional trade
agreements in order to protect public health interest. Agreed to work
cooperatively in international fora to protect their policy space against TRIPS
plus provisions and other measures that impede access to medicines and share
these experiences with other developing countries.
16. Emphasized
the importance of child survival and development through progressive reduction
in the maternal mortality, infant mortality, neo-natal mortality, under-5
mortality and congenital disorders as well as their consequences for child
development with the aim of achieving the unfinished agenda of the Millennium
Development Goals and the relevant Sustainable Development Goals. Confirmed
their commitment to a renewed effort in this area and to enhance collaboration
through exchange of best practices.
17. Acknowledged
the need of greater use of Information and Communications Technology in Health
services to promote cost-effective treatment as well as better maintenance and
use of data for surveillance and policy formulation. They encouraged to
strengthen cooperation amongst the BRICS countries to share experiences in ICT
projects for health including mHealth.
18. Welcomed
the recent agreement in the WHO Member State
Mechanism in relation to the Working Definitions on SSFFC medical
products, in particular, to the consensus on deleting the word ‘counterfeit' as
it usually refers to IP violations, and excluding any consideration of
patents/trade mark or other IP issues while defining ‘falsified' medical
products.
19. Reiterated their support
for the further development of a fully functional WHO Global Observatory on
Health R&D and for the implementation and financing of all the selected
demonstration projects. They also underscored that the priority setting
mechanism and financing mechanism on health R&D should cover the full scope
of diseases mentioned in the CEWG report including all Type II and III diseases
and specific R&D needs of developing countries relating to Type I diseases,
while upholding the guiding principle of the de-linkage of the cost of research and development and the price of health products.
20. Agreed to
cooperate for combating mental disorders, including autism and
neuro-development disorders, through a multi-pronged approach encompassing a
mental health policy, a life cycle approach to address the needs of such
individuals throughout life, sharing of innovations in the field of mental
health promotion, diagnosis and management and exchange of best practices and
experiences.
21. Agreed to enhance cooperation
amongst the BRICS countries for capacity development of human resources in
public health and clinical medicine. Welcomed the recommendations of the UN
High Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, and looked
forward to development of an implementation plan, to amplify
gains across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and with a view to
delivering Universal Health Coverage.
22. Agreed
to establish platforms for collaboration within BRICS framework and with other
countries and international partners with a view to realizing the goals and
objectives outlined in this as well as in the past Declarations and Joint
Communiques.
23. Adopted the
action plans on specific areas of cooperation
as recommended by the Senior Health Officials meeting held on 15-16 December
2016 in New Delhi.
24. Resolved
to continue cooperation in building, responsive, inclusive and collective
solutions for sustainable development including in the sphere of health.
25. Thanked
India for successfully hosting the 6th BRICS Health Ministers
meeting and agreed to convene the 7th BRICS Health Ministers meeting
and Meeting of Senior Health Officials in China in 2017.
*Action Plans on
Strengthening surveillance systems, AMR, NCDs, Regulatory collaboration, Drug
Discovery & Development, Research collaboration for TB, HIV and Malaria and
Information and Communications Technology in healthcare,
MV