India’s first high-altitude medicine research centre to come up in Himachal
India is set to establish its first dedicated research centre for high-altitude medicine, as the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) opens a specialised facility in Himachal Pradesh to address health challenges unique to the Himalayan region.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda will lay the foundation stone of the ICMR Centre for High Altitude Medicine and Public Health Research at Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district on July 11. The facility will upgrade the existing ICMR field station into a multidisciplinary research hub focusing on diseases and healthcare issues associated with life at high altitudes.
Scientists at the centre will study altitude physiology and acclimatisation, mountain medicine, climate-sensitive diseases, infectious and non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, nutrition, mental health, occupational health, and disaster medicine. The institute will also assess how climate change is altering disease patterns and healthcare delivery in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
One of the centre’s key objectives is to develop healthcare solutions for remote mountain communities using telemedicine, digital health platforms, drone-based delivery of medicines and diagnostics, and real-time disease surveillance.
Located in the strategically important border district of Lahaul and Spiti, the centre will provide year-round access to high-altitude and tribal populations, enabling long-term studies on the health effects of altitude, extreme weather, and environmental change.
Officials said the evidence generated is expected to help shape policies on tribal health, disaster preparedness, and climate-resilient healthcare.
The centre will collaborate with the Armed Forces Medical Services, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Himachal Pradesh government, and academic institutions in India and abroad to research high-altitude illnesses and emergency medical response in mountainous terrain.
Health officials stated that the facility is expected to strengthen India’s capacity in high-altitude biomedical research at a time when climate change, growing tourism, and expanding infrastructure in the Himalayan region are creating new public health challenges.
The foundation stone ceremony will also include a scientific exhibition, launch of the centre’s website, release of a commemorative postal special cover, and plantation of native Himalayan saplings under the Green ICMR Campus initiative.
