Chandigarh, Jul 24 (PTI) Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava on Friday said that health cooperation remains one of the strongest pillars of the BRICS partnership, founded on mutual learning, shared innovation and a common commitment to achieving universal health coverage.
Emphasising that continuity of care lies at the heart of every health system, she said the fundamental challenge before all countries is to ensure that a citizen’s healthcare journey remains connected rather than fragmented across institutions, providers and geographies.
Delivering her keynote address at an event organised by the health ministry on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ meeting being held here under India’s chairship from July 22-24, she observed that continuity of care is the true measure of whether digital health and artificial intelligence (AI) are delivering meaningful benefits to citizens.
The event was titled ‘From digital health records to AI-enabled healthcare: Strengthening the continuum of care through interoperable data infrastructure and responsible artificial intelligence’.
Srivastava said while no country can build the future of AI-enabled healthcare in isolation, BRICS nations share some common challenges, including large and diverse populations, rural-urban disparities, a growing burden of chronic and non-communicable diseases, and stretched health workforces.
These challenges, she said, make interoperable digital health infrastructure and responsible AI essential tools for strengthening integrated and people-centric healthcare delivery.
The event brought together policymakers, technical experts and health leaders from BRICS countries.
The dialogue was anchored in the findings of the BRICS Health Track Technical Working Group 4 (TWG-4) Compendium on Continuum of Care, which underscores the importance of coordinated and uninterrupted health service delivery across different levels of care, an official statement said.
It highlights that while continuity of care remains a shared policy objective, its effective implementation is often constrained by the lack of interoperable digital health infrastructure capable of supporting seamless exchange of health information across the patient care journey.
Srivastava said the discussions held over the past two days reflected the collective commitment of BRICS countries to strengthening resilient, equitable and future-ready health systems.
Sharing India’s experience, she said the country has created more than 940 million Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs, issued unique digital identities to more than one million healthcare professionals and over five lakh health facilities, while enabling citizens to securely access more than one billion digital health records.
She also referred to India’s Strategic Framework for AI in Healthcare, unveiled during the AI India Impact Summit earlier this year, which provides a framework for the responsible adoption of AI to strengthen healthcare delivery while ensuring ethics, transparency, safety and citizen trust. PTI SUN ARI
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