BIMSTEC Public Health Plan 2026–2030: Regional Disease Surveillance and Traditional Medicine Cooperation

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The first BIMSTEC Health Ministers’ Meeting, held in Colombo on 11 November 2026, unanimously adopted a Joint Ministerial Statement and a revised Plan of Action on Public Health for 2026–2030, strengthening regional health cooperation among Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda led India’s delegation and offered to share the country’s expertise in primary healthcare, digital health and public health infrastructure with member states.

The revised plan provides a structured roadmap for cooperation in disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, digital health, traditional medicine, One Health and healthcare workforce development. The statement envisages exploring a BIMSTEC Digital Health Framework to promote telemedicine, interoperable electronic health records and the use of artificial intelligence in diagnostics. India announced it will host the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar, Gujarat. On the sidelines, India and Sri Lanka exchanged an MoU for the supply of 100 additional fully-equipped ambulances under an Indian grant of approximately USD 5.28 million, and India announced support for 50 medical kiosks or health ATMs to strengthen primary healthcare in Sri Lanka. Thailand offered to host the second health ministers’ meeting in 2028.

What is BIMSTEC and when was it founded?

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was established on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration. It originally included Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with Myanmar joining later in 1997 and Nepal and Bhutan becoming members in 2004. The grouping connects South and Southeast Asian countries around the Bay of Bengal. Its founding document is the Bangkok Declaration, and its first summit was held in Bangkok in 2004.

What led to the first health ministers’ meeting?

The sixth BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok in April 2025 decided to establish a dedicated mechanism for cooperation among health ministers of member countries. The first meeting in Colombo operationalised that decision, bringing together health ministers and senior officials from all seven member states. The meeting’s statement links regional cooperation with universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goal 3.

What does the 2026–2030 plan cover and what are its limits?

The revised plan covers disease surveillance, pandemic preparedness, digital health, traditional medicine, One Health and health workforce development. The statement also welcomed Bangladesh’s proposal for a Regional Zoonotic Disease Observatory and Early Warning System. However, these are areas for future cooperation, not evidence of completed regional systems. The plan does not set binding targets or a dedicated funding mechanism, and its implementation depends on biennial ministerial meetings, with Thailand offering to host the next in 2028.

How will India’s traditional medicine centre and Sri Lanka partnership work?

India’s Centre of Excellence in Traditional Medicine at ITRA, Jamnagar, is envisaged as a regional platform for collaborative research, academic exchanges, capacity building and sharing of traditional medicine knowledge and best practices, with a focus on evidence-informed approaches and quality standards. The India–Sri Lanka MoU provides for 100 fully-equipped ambulances for Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya Emergency Ambulance Service, supported by SLR 1,725.73 million in Indian grants, building on earlier grants of USD 7.5 million in 2016 and USD 15.02 million in 2018 that supported 297 ambulances. The 50 proposed medical kiosks would integrate point-of-care diagnostics with telemedicine.