Two webinars characterized the launch of the 2025 Calendar of Meetings of Health Information Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean. The events also took place in the context of celebrations for the 58th anniversary of BIREME and the 27th anniversary of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), reinforcing the importance of regional cooperation to expand equitable access to scientific and technical health information.
The launch events featured a presentation by BIREME’s Director, João Paulo Souza, on the “Perspectives of the Virtual Health Library for the year 2025”. João Paulo presented the development priorities for the year, emphasizing the importance of open access to scientific and technical information as a strategy for achieving equity in health. The Director also acknowledged the supporters of BIREME and the VHL Network, and the collaborative efforts of technical cooperation.
The first webinar, held on March 13, brought together 166 participants from 20 Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The strategic objectives for 2025 were presented, highlighting the restructuring of the VHL instances, the digitization and automation of indexing processes, and the adoption of emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain, to guarantee the integrity and free access to knowledge.
The second webinar, held on March 20, was dedicated to the MedCarib Network and brought together 17 participants from countries such as Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. The specific challenges and opportunities for the dissemination of health information in the Caribbean region were addressed, highlighting the need to expand the digital transformation in order to reach new levels of information use.
During his presentation, the director of BIREME, João Paulo Souza, highlighted the strategic importance of technical cooperation with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean in strengthening health information networks. He emphasized that BIREME’s work is aligned with the principles of equity, solidarity and universal access to scientific and technical health information, which are fundamental pillars of PAHO/WHO. According to the director, investing in the dissemination of knowledge and building regional capacities is essential for the advancement of public health and for tackling challenges such as disinformation and unequal access to reliable information.
João Paulo Souza presented the main advances and innovations developed by BIREME over the last year, with an emphasis on modernizing the products and services offered by the Center. Among the highlights, he mentioned improvements to the VHL platform, such as integration with new search and content curation resources, as well as expanding the use of artificial intelligence to support the discovery and organization of scientific information. Innovations related to LILACS were also presented, including improved management of editorial and indexing processes, with more intuitive tools aligned with the needs of collaborating networks.
The director also shared perspectives on the importance of strengthening interoperability between information systems, to ensure that the data and knowledge produced by health institutions in the region is more accessible and useful to researchers, managers, health professionals and citizens. In this regard, he highlighted the relevance of the DeCS/MeSH controlled vocabulary as an essential bridge for organizing and exchanging data in multiple languages and contexts.
Finally, João Paulo Souza reinforced BIREME’s commitment to the continuous training of national teams and recognized the essential role of the VHL Network and the MedCarib Network as part of the VHL ecosystem in the Americas. He invited all members of the network to actively engage in the 2025 calendar of sessions, taking advantage of the spaces for mutual learning, exchange of experiences and institutional strengthening. “Knowledge is a powerful tool for social transformation. Our role at BIREME is to ensure that this knowledge is accessible to all, in an equitable, timely and quality manner,” stated the director.
At both meetings, the 2025 Calendar was presented by Veronica Abdala, BIREME’s Information Products and Services manager. The program includes a total of 26 meetings throughout the year, with sessions held on Thursdays and activities planned until December.
In 2025, the events are being held via the Zoom platform and can be published on PAHOTV’s YouTube channel, expanding the reach of the discussions and promoting greater access to the content for the entire health information community in the region.