The XII Session of BIREME’s Advisory Committee (AC) was held virtually on 23 August 2023 and was attended by members representing five Latin American and Caribbean countries. The main objective of the meeting was to assess the CA members on the Centre’s new Strategy 2023-2025, which was approved for implementation. The document will now guide the development of the 2024-2025 Biannual Work Plan (BWP), including specific projects to achieve the desired results.
The meeting was attended by appointed members from Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as PAHO/WHO, which is, as Brazil, one of the Committee’s permanent members, according to the following representations:
Ana Estela Haddad, Ministry of Health’s Digital Health Secretariat, Brazil;
Valentina Sandoval, International Affairs and Cooperation Office, Chile;
Adriana Salazar González, Head of the International Relations Unit, Ministry of Health, Costa Rica;
Thelma Lorena Gobern García, Director of Epidemiology and Risk Management, Guatemala;
Stewart Smith, Senior Health Systems Advisor, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Session’s agenda dealt exclusively with the CA’s members considerations about the new institutional Strategy proposed for BIREME’s next three-year period, entitled “Towards the Information Industry 4.0”, which was presented by the Director João Paulo Souza. The new work proposal for the Centre seeks to achieve two main objectives: 1) to facilitate BIREME’s transition to the development of information products and services 4.0; and 2) to position BIREME as the “PAHO Centre of Evidence for Action in Health”, contributing to the realisation of the Organisation’s vision.
The figure below demonstrates the detailed Theory of Change’s map of what is to be implemented: it is expected that the nine strategic interventions should facilitate work in four priority areas and contribute to a values-driven acceleration towards PAHO’s vision.
The presentation ended with a report on the recommendations made to the Strategy by the Scientific Committee at its 9th session on 24 May 2023, which were ratified by those present.
In summary, both BIREME Governance Committees recognised the BIREME 2023-2025 Strategy as a valid approach to achieving the proposed objectives and recommended its implementation. Based on the BIREME 2023-2025 Strategy, the Centre’s new Biannual Work Plan will be drawn up, with the definitions of the performance indicators for the Projects, Products and Services that will be developed in the 2024-2025 biennium.
Besides discussing the BIREME Strategy 2023-2025, a report was given on the progress of the BIREME Headquarters Agreement with the Brazilian government. The renewal of BIREME’s Scientific Committee was also discussed and the dates of the next meetings of both committees were set for March 2024.
About BIREME’s Advisory Committee
BIREME’s Advisory Committee has the main function, under BIREME’s Statute in the context of its current institutional framework (CD49.R5), to analyze and make recommendations to PAHO/WHO’s Directory on the programmatic functions based on the PAHO/WHO Strategic Plan, Biannual Work Plan (PTB), and their funding sources.
AC’s permanent members are Brazil and PAHO/WHO, represented by the Director of the EIH Department, and BIREME (Director and management and technical staff). In addition, five other Member States from Latin America and the Caribbean serve as non-permanent members, who are selected by the Governing Bodies of PAHO/WHO for a period of up to three years. The AC currently has the following composition of non-permanent members and mandates: Colombia and Costa Rica (2021-2023), Chile, Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago (2022-2024). In December 2023, Cuba and Guiana will join the AC as the two new members for the next cycle.
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