The year 2024 was marked by achievements for BIREME/PAHO/WHO in its mission to support the countries of the Region with scientific and technical health information through its products and services, highlighting:
Management and operation
- Implementation of BIREME’s 2023-2025 Strategy for the Center’s digital transformation that is using AI for improve its technological developments (ChatGPT), Large Language Models (LLM) to foster innovation and implementation of Agile Culture;
- Formalization of the TA13/TC95 agreement with CGDI/MS;
- Institutional actions for formalizing the Headquarters Agreement in Brazil;
- Execution of the sessions of the XIII Advisory Committee (CA) and the XI Coordinating Committee (CC);
- Development of products and services under TA4/TC93 for the Indigenous Health VHL;
- Effective management of BIREME’s operations, including internal and external communication actions, operation of services, ICT servers and platforms, and maintenance of regular actions to develop competencies and strengthen the organizational climate. Additionally, competency-strengthening initiatives were implemented to enhance staff development and commitment.
Implementation of its technical cooperation program
- The Virtual Health Library (VHL) regional portal continued its regular operation, offering access to 58 information sources with over 39 million citations of scientific and technical documents. In the second semester of 2024, the portal recorded more than 41 million sessions from 29 million users, generating 128 million interactions, including 76 million page views, 23 million search result views, and 1 million file downloads.
- The Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS) updated, and its network contributed over 16,000 new records (from July to December 2024); LILACS reached 1,1 million document records, 62% with a link to the full text. More than 200 cooperating centers from 18 countries contributed to LILACS (ARG, BOL, BRA, CHL, COL, CRI, CUB, DOM, ECU, GUT, HND, MEX, PAN, PRY, PER, SLV, URY, VEN), and nine new journals (Brazil (2), Colombia (2), Panama (2), Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru) were included for indexing in LILACS. The LILACS Plus collection has been launched, comprising the LILACS database and other publications from Latin American and Caribbean countries indexed in different databases such as MEDLINE. The integrated collection brings together over 2 million documents and enhances the visibility of the Region’s scientific output. The fourth edition of the “Profile of Journals Indexed in LILACS” study has been published, featuring data collected annually since 2021. This edition includes responses from 252 journals across 19 countries. The findings support strategic actions such as editor training, updating indexing criteria, promoting editorial best practices, and improving the database’s technical and operational aspects to ensure its ongoing relevance.
- BIREME has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI) feature in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS). The DeCS Finder service now displays an artificial intelligence-based tool that automates text indexing with DeCS descriptors, speeding up cataloging and facilitating the identification of relevant terms. The service was rebranded as DeCS Finder AI and is designed to align with the LILACS indexing methodology. It enables the processing of texts in different languages, delivering fast and accurate results. The 2024 DeCS edition featured 394 new descriptors—311 from MeSH and 83 from DeCS-exclusive categories. Continued development ranging from nursing to traditional, complementary, and integrative areas was carried out. The DeCS/MeSH portal and DeCS Finder service registered nearly 3.5 million access sessions by 2.2 million users, generating over 39 million events (page views, scrolling, search result views, and more).
- In 2024, actions to strengthen and expand the VHL network continued. A total of 20 meetings were held, with an average of over 100 connections from 18 countries in the Region. The meetings were organized around thematic axes: indexing according to the LILACS methodology (5); best practices in editorial processes of scientific journals (5); reference networks (access to information) (4); general topics on network work in the VHL (4); and four meetings specifically for the MedCarib Network.
- Technical cooperation at the global level in coordination with WHO: (i) continued development and operation of the Global Index Medicus (GIM), an information product that integrates the scientific output at the regional level from all WHO regions (The WHO Regional Offices operate the GIM and features a database of over 2 million records with 280,000 users); (ii) operation of the AFRO/WHO Index Medicus on the VHL technological platform; (iii) support to the ProEthos platform, developed by BIREME in coordination with the PAHO Regional Bioethics/HSS team, to systematize the work processes of the Human Research Ethics Committees; and (v) development of information products and services in cooperation with WHO Global Traditional Medicine Center.
- Considering that an estimated 80% of the global population uses traditional, complementary, and integrative (TCI) health interventions, BIREME with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Center develops a comprehensive and pluriepistemic evidence base on TCI medicine. In 2024, the platform of scientific evidence maps on TM brought 36 evidence maps on traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine. Continued development of the Virtual Health Library on Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (VHL TCIM) was carried out. BIREME has also led the development of the WHO Traditional Medicine Global Library (TMGL). The TMGL alpha version includes a multisource database comprising 1.7 million documents, a global portal, and six regional portals, marking significant progress towards the planned global launch during the Second Global Summit of Traditional Medicine to be held in December 2025.
- In collaboration with the Science for Impact unit, the GRADE Guidelines and Recommendations Portal continued its regular operation and updates within the VHL. The portal includes the BIGG (International GRADE Guidelines Database), BIGG-REC (GRADE Recommendations for SDG-3), and BIGG-Map (Evidence Maps based on GRADE recommendations), as well as the PIE (Evidence-Informed Policies) database and the Evid@Easy tool (guided evidence search). These products aim to facilitate access to resources supporting clinical and public health decision-making produced by WHO, PAHO, and other national and international institutions following the GRADE approach. Additionally, a prototype of a graphical tool was developed to create algorithms based on clinical guidelines and recommendations.
- The evidence map methodology offered by Bireme was applied for the development and publication of 17 new Evidence Maps and another 3 maps are in the final phase of development. The Evidence Map Portal was updated (https://bvsalud.org/mapa-de-evidencias/) which has 50 registered evidence maps. 8 new Windows of Knowledge were also developed. The Windows of Knowledge Portal (https://bvsalud.org/vitrinas/es/) is in regular operation and has 56 registered Windows.
- In collaboration with the Secretary of Information and Digital Health of the Brazilian Ministry of Health (SEIDIGI/MS) and PWR BRA, BIREME is developing the New Formative Second Opinion Program and the Decision Aid platform as part of the TC157. These tools aim to support the decision-making of health professionals and the public. Also, with SEIDIGI, information products to support the Interagency Health Information Network (RIPSA) were developed, including the API and plugin that integrate the RIPSA portal with the DEMAS system’s Indicator Management Module (MGDI). This technological integration enables the publication of qualification records on the RIPSA portal, streamlining the process and ensuring greater efficiency. In addition, SEIDIGI requested technical cooperation to develop a comprehensive SEIDIGI portal on digital health, and the preparatory work was initiated.
The results achieved in 2024 reflect the commitment of BIREME’s technical and administrative teams, under the leadership of its Director, João Paulo Souza, and the collaboration with the actors of the VHL network and associates, who work closely together in the development and updating of information products.
As a PAHO/WHO specialized center, part of the Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health (EIH), BIREME has the strategic support and recognition of the Government of Brazil, through the Ministry of Health, and with the constant support of the countries of the region, to continue working for the democratization of access to scientific and technical information in health.