As Global South nations seek stronger healthcare resilience and pharmaceutical self-sufficiency, BRICS is turning political commitments into tangible health cooperation. From vaccine development to medical training, traditional medicine, technology transfer and hospital financing, the group is building an increasingly integrated health architecture across the developing world.

Vaccine and drug development

The BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center has moved from virtual coordination to operational reality. At its third meeting, held in Brazil in September 2025 during Brazil's BRICS chairship, representatives from governments, scientific institutions and regulatory agencies advanced discussions on governance, regulatory cooperation and a proposed tuberculosis vaccine.

Medical talent training

Under the BRICS framework, cross-border training is deepening long-term medical partnerships. The Heart Sapling Program launched in April 2023 trains young cardiovascular specialists from BRICS and Belt and Road countries at Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital for up to one year. According to the hospital, the program has trained 46 physicians from 18 countries as of September this year. Many graduates have become key practitioners at cardiac treatment institutions in their home countries. Brazilian cardiologist Eric Rodrigo Morales Mercado said he aimed to bring the techniques back to Brazil.

Traditional medicine exchange

In July this year, BRICS formally elevated traditional medicine by establishing a new Expert Working Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM). The group is dedicated to enhancing exchanges and mutual learning in traditional medicine, promoting the integrated development of traditional medicine and modern medicine, advancing scientific and technological progress and academic prosperity in the field of traditional medicine, and contributing to the sustainable development of the global health system, jointly serving the health and well-being of humanity.

Technology transfer and innovation

The BRICS Technology Transfer Center, inaugurated in Kunming in 2018, has become the group's first official technology transfer mechanism. According to the center, in 2023 alone it signed 23 key science and technology cooperation projects worth over 7.2 billion yuan. These efforts promote cross-border connectivity in biomedical R&D and production and apply AI and information sharing to public health.

New hospital financing

In January 2026, Brazil's first public smart hospital project received $320 million – about 1.7 billion reais – in financing from BRICS' New Development Bank (NDB), according to the NDB and the Brazilian government. Located in Sao Paulo, the hospital is designed with 800 beds and 25 operating rooms and is expected to treat about 190,000 inpatients annually. It is planned to begin operations in 2029. The hospital will house a national center for medical innovation and translation, focusing on precision medicine, health data science and medical device validation, and will deploy AI-assisted diagnosis and robotic surgery systems. 

Together, these initiatives have established a solid institutional foundation for biomedical cooperation among BRICS members and the broader Global South. As BRICS countries account for nearly half of the world's population and around 30% of global economic output, their health cooperation is increasingly shaping a more equitable global health landscape.