In March 2025, BIREME/PAHO/WHO turns 58, reaffirming its strategic role in the digital transformation of health information with advances in artificial intelligence (AI), regional cooperation and equitable access to scientific knowledge, consolidating itself as a benchmark in health information management in the Americas.
The Virtual Health Library (VHL) celebrates its 27th anniversary, consolidating itself as a strategic model for health information management in Latin America and the Caribbean (LA&C). To mark the date, BIREME is reaffirming its commitment to the VHL Network, with actions aimed at modernizing and integrating national instances into the VHL Regional Portal, promoting more equitable and representative access to scientific information in the region.
In March, on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of BIREME and the 27th anniversary of the VHL, the 2025 Calendar of technical meetings of the VHL, LILACS and MedCarib Networks was launched, reinforcing regional cooperation, innovation in health information and equitable access to scientific knowledge in Latin America and the Caribbean. The meetings reinforce priorities such as technological innovation, strengthening networks and the use of evidence for decision-making.
The new National Health Economics and Development Portal marks the renewal of the Health Economics VHL (ECOS VHL) and its full integration into the Health Economics Network (ECOS Network). The initiative aims to provide managers, researchers and citizens with information that contributes to the efficient allocation of resources in Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS). Published in December 2024, the portal strengthens the ECOS Network, expands access to qualified information and boosts collaboration between specialists in the field.
Five years after the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, this special edition looks back at BIREME/PAHO/WHO’s main actions in response to the health crisis. The article highlights the rapid development of scientific information resources, dealing with the infodemic, the work of the technical teams and stories that humanize the backstage of the institutional response. A retrospective of impact, innovation and commitment to public health in the region.
Obesity affects more than 1 billion people worldwide and is linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Although complex, it is a preventable condition with effective policies, healthy environments and actions from the earliest years of life. On World Obesity Day, BIREME/PAHO/WHO reinforces the urgency of integrated responses and highlights the Window of Knowledge as a tool to support decisions based on scientific and technical information.
BIREME and CGDI/MS are continuing with developments in the context of TC95 for the management of health information and knowledge to support the management of the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Health. TA13 was formalized for 2025-2026 and both TA6 and TA9 were finalized with recognized outcomes such as the VHL of the Ministry of Health and DeCS and LILACS information sources, among others.
BIREME is incorporating Artificial Intelligence into its products and services to optimize the indexing, information retrieval, and synthesis of scientific papers. DeCS Finder AI and the new Abstract Synthesis are examples of advances that modernize access to health knowledge.
BIREME and SEIDIGI of the Brazilian Ministry of Health held workshops to support the digital transformation of SUS through projects such as the Second Formative Opinion, Decision Aids and the SUS Digital Portal to expand access to scientific and technical health information for the population and service workers. These actions are within the context of TC157 with PAHO Brazil.
The criteria for admission and permanence of LILACS journals have been updated to reflect advances in Open Science and strengthen editorial quality. The new version of the document, the result of a participatory process with experts from Latin America and the Caribbean, establishes guidelines on indexing, diversity, editorial ethics, the use of artificial intelligence and avoiding predatory journals. The new rules come into force in April 2025, with a transition period until 2026.