The General Coordination of Documentation and Information of the Ministry of Health (CGDI/MoH) and the Brazil Office of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO Brazil) work together in a technical cooperation initiative in the context of the VI Additive Term of the 95 ° Technical Cooperation Term (TA6/TC95) in effect until August 2021.
TA6/TC95 is oriented towards the Management Improvement of the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, and relies on the participation of the Technical Areas of PAHO/WHO Brazil and of BIREME/PAHO/WHO, which cooperates specifically with results related to the management of scientific and technical health information and communication, more specifically in the context of the information sources of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the network of national libraries that contribute to the VHL Brazil, thematic and institutional libraries, such as the VHL of the Ministry of Health (VHL MoH).
It also includes components that aim to expand bibliographic control and improve the quality of the description of scientific and technical output in Brazil and expand access and use of scientific knowledge within the scope of the Unified Health System (SUS) through knowledge translation products.
During the year 2020, BIREME and CGDI have been holding regular meetings to analyze results obtained in the subprojects that make up the current Cooperation Term and to align expectations of new developments.
On October 2nd, at the request of the Deputy Secretary for Administrative Affairs (SAA/SE/MoH), a meeting was held with Deputy Secretary Alexandre Martinelli Cerqueira. The meeting was attended by Soraya Zacarias Drumond de Andrade, General Coordinator of Documentation and Information; Shirley Rodrigues, Coordinator of Dissemination of Technical and Scientific Information in Health; and Sandra Cristina Teixeira, responsible for the Virtual Library of the Ministry of Health.
Representing BIREME, there were the managers of the technical areas, Renato Murasaki (Manager of Methodologies and Information Technologies), and Veronica Abdala (Manager of Information Sources and User Services). Marcia Barretto (Information Technology Infrastructure Coordinator/Administrative Management) represented Silvia de Valentin (Administrator/GA) and was also present Lilian Calò (Coordinator of Scientific and Institutional Communication. BIREME Director Diego González led the meeting.
The Director of BIREME made a brief presentation about the Center, its mission, functional structure, composition of its staff and the dual importance it has to be located in Brazil, on the one hand to support the development of information products for the country and for another, in its role as Regional Center developing regional products and services and globally, where Brazil is included. He cited examples, such as the Global Index Medicus, Regional Database of Technology Assessment Reports in the Americas (BRISA), the Virtual Health Library for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCMI), and the International Nursing VHL, among others.
Then, presentations were made by the managers of the technical areas about the products developed under the TC95/TA6, and Marcia Barretto made a summary of the part that is responsible for the institutional strengthening of CGDI.
In turn, Shirlei Rodrigues presented the project stressing the importance of BIREME’s work for the Ministry of Health, citing as an example the development of the MoH VHL, showing the growing number of accesses over the years and describing the BiblioSUS Network and its role in integrating remote regions of Brazil through health information.
The Deputy Secretary was satisfied with the results obtained and showed signs of having a positive view of the Center’s work in close coordination with PAHO and CGDI.