ICMR's Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research to come up in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is establishing a Center for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research (ICMR-CHAMP) in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, to strengthen research on healthcare issues in high-altitude areas. The Center would focus on strengthening multidisciplinary research, innovation and capacity building in the high-altitude and climate-sensitive regions of India.
The Himalayan ecosystem poses unique public health challenges associated with extreme climatic conditions, rugged terrains, geographical isolation and increasing climate variability. Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the ICMR-CHAMP on October 12, 2026.
According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the centre will strengthen “scientific evidence generation and the development of context-specific, scalable healthcare solutions for people living and working in these challenging environments”.
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Research priorities
The centre’s research mandate will include high altitude physiology and acclimatization, mountain medicine, climate sensitive and emerging diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, environmental and occupational health and disaster medicine.
It will also examine the use of digital health platforms, telemedicine, drone-enabled healthcare logistics and real-time public health surveillance to improve healthcare delivery in hard-to-reach and remote areas.
The Lahaul and Spiti center will serve as an institutional platform for sustained field research involving high-altitude and tribal populations in a strategically important border region. Longitudinal studies will explore the relationship of environmental conditions, climate variability and health outcomes.
The initiative is anticipated to contribute to national priorities in tribal health, disaster preparedness, digital health innovation and climate-resilient health systems and strengthen India’s contribution to global research in high-altitude medicine.
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Institutional collaboration
The initiative will facilitate institutional collaborations with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS), national research institutions and the Himachal Pradesh government for translational research, scientific exchange and evidence-based policy development in alignment with Atmanirbhar Bharat goals. The PIB stated that the partnerships would support “translational research, scientific exchange, capacity building and evidence-based policy development, advancing the Government of India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in health research and inclusive, climate-resilient healthcare”.
The foundation stone ceremony will involve a traditional Bhumi Pujan, ceremonial ground-breaking and the unveiling of the foundation stone. The program will also include plantation of native Himalayan saplings under Green ICMR Campus Initiative, scientific exhibition, launch of the centre’s institutional video and website, presentation of the building layout and release of a commemorative postal special cover by Union Health Minister.
The expected attendees are Minister of State for Defense Sanjay Seth, former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, Mandi MP Kangana Ranaut and Lahaul and Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana, besides senior government officials, Armed Forces representatives, scientists and public health experts.