Global Index Medicus (GIM), a World Health Organization (WHO) platform developed with technical support from BIREME/PAHO since 2016, has established itself as a relevant source of information for accessing scientific evidence on health produced in low- and middle-income countries. The initiative, which brings together the WHO Regional Indexes, aims to increase the accessibility, visibility, and use of scientific knowledge from five regions: Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Western Pacific, and Southeast Asia.
In the first half of 2025, the GIM platform registered approximately 17,000 active users and continues to be available on BIREME’s IT infrastructure with high availability and international information security standards.
According to the consolidated report for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, by GA4, GIM has registered:
- 32,257 active users, an 89.7% increase compared to 2023 (17,000 users).
- 6 million bibliographic records, a 6.17% increase over the previous year.
- 6% of the collection in full text, with almost 1.95 million documents available in full, an increase of 8.1% compared to 2023.
- 4,704 indexed scientific journals, predominantly journal articles (86.7%).
- Distribution of records by region: Americas (42.4%), Western Pacific (40%), Southeast Asia (8.9%), Eastern Mediterranean (8%), Africa (0.7%).
- Most frequent languages: English (31.6%), Chinese (23.1%), Spanish (17.8%), Portuguese (17.5%), and Korean (7.5%).
According to the most recent indication from the WHO regional focal points, a plan to strengthen GIM should be developed, including resource mobilization and the establishment of strategic institutional relationships between BIREME/PAHO/WHO and WHO Regional Offices to sustain and expand the system by improving harvesting in the regions; advancing the decentralization of content contribution at the national level; adopting GIM as the sole data entry solution for all WHO regions; and exploring the possibility of replicating the rapid response model developed with the COVID-19 research database for other health emergencies.
Last year’s performance confirms the relevance of Global Index Medicus as a product for the international visibility of health research in low- and middle-income countries. At the same time, the debate on sustainability and expansion points to the need for investments and strategic partnerships, ensuring that GIM remains a global and equitable access point to scientific health information.