Author: anafranzon

BIREME’s participation in the VII CIAPS held in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, gave visibility to the Center’s commitment to health equity, especially the challenge of reducing maternal mortality in the context of Primary Care. The program included a keynote lecture, technical workshops and presentations of experiences in digital health and evidence-based information, providing an opportunity to expand the VHL into new thematic platforms and collaborative networks.

Super Summaries are now available on the VHL and support the fast reading of scientific and technical texts based on Artificial Intelligence. The tool summarizes the contents and it is the result of BIREME’s intensified focus on the area of Digital Frontiers, which includes the research and development of information products and services designed with the use of advanced technologies.

BIREME/PAHO/WHO is advancing the institutionalization of agile culture as a cornerstone of organizational transformation, promoting more efficient deliveries, cross-functional integration, and strengthened project management. With a focus on value, strategic prioritization, and excellence from the PMO team, the initiative expands the impact of technical cooperation for countries in the Region, as highlighted by Director João Paulo Souza.

The World No Tobacco Day, on May 31st, is an initiative of the WHO that this year has adopted the theme “Unmasking the tobacco industry: exposing companies’ tactics to make tobacco and nicotine products more attractive”. The campaign aims to reveal the strategies used by these industries to make their products more attractive, especially to young people, and to promote public policies that reduce the demand for these products. 

Teams from BIREME, the Ministry of Health, PAHO Brazil and experts in the preservation of collections met in São Paulo to define the 2025-2026 work plan for the implementation of technical cooperation for the Pandemic Memorial, which will bring together documents, artistic productions, interviews, testimonies and bibliographical references on COVID-19.

Super Summaries and DeCS Finder AI were presented at the Kigali Grand Challenges AI Community Convening and the Global AI Summit on Africa in Rwanda. Developed by BIREME to boost the digital transition of VHL products and services, both stand out for operating with specialized language models and accessible infrastructure.

How can science, ancestral knowledge and digital transformation be combined for the benefit of public health? This was the proposal put forward by João Paulo Souza, director of BIREME/PAHO/WHO, during the ‘Knowledge for Care’ seminar, held on April 8 and 9 in São Paulo, as part of the SESC Inspira program, which celebrates World Health Day with educational and cultural activities at its units.

The latest version of the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS), maintained by BIREME/PAHO/WHO, is now available for consultation on the DeCS portal. Updated annually for the past 39 years, the vocabulary reflects the translation of the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and includes 206 new descriptors, emphasizing artificial intelligence, public health, and inclusive terminology. Discover the updates in the 2025 edition of DeCS.

BIREME took part in an event coordinated by SMS-SP, which included the participation of director João Paulo Souza and PAHO’s perspective on innovation and digital transformation in health education. In the panel on Artificial Intelligence applied to information products, the team led a session on the VHL as a tool to support the continuing education of SUS workers.

From April 24 to 30, the 2025 Immunization Week was celebrated worldwide under the theme “Immunization for all is humanly possible.” Promoted in the Americas by PAHO/WHO as Vaccination Week in the Americas, the campaign aims to strengthen trust in vaccines and expand their coverage across all stages of life. On the VHL, the VWA 2025 Window of Knowledge gathers documents to support decision-making and promote equitable access to immunization.