Author: Lilian Callo

World Cancer day, celebrated on February 4th, whose motto this year is “I am and I will”, aims to raise awareness among all people directly or indirectly involved with the disease worldwide and also to contribute to actions for prevention, reducing risk factors, increasing access to early diagnosis and adequate treatment. BIREME contributes to facilitate access to relevant and quality information on cancer, for the improvement of professionals, researchers, and those interested in the theme through the Virtual Health Library for Cancer Prevention and Control.

The specialized Center of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (BIREME), within the scope of its mission to democratize information, knowledge and evidence for health decision-making, developed a Window of Knowledge on the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which seeks to provide qualified and updated information to health professionals and the general public about the outbreak of the disease.

The structure of BIREME’s Biannual Work Plan (BWP) for 2020-2021 has been approved by the PAHO/WHO Executive Management and Director, which will enable the fulfillment of the technical cooperation program and institutional management priorities of the Center. Among the main approaches, it is possible to highlight its alignment with the objectives of the 2030 Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas (ASSA2030) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for synergies with multi-sector institutions.

The World Health Assembly has designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, and represents a campaign of the World Health Organization, whose aim is to recognize the work performed by nurses and midwives around the world, and advocate for greater investments in this workforce, their conditions of employment, education and professional development.

The collective priorities of the member states of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization and the results to be achieved in the public health field are addressed in the Organization’s strategic plans. The 2020-2025 Strategic Plan directs technical cooperation to countries to, among other goals, achieve the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Region of the Americas. BIREME, as a PAHO/WHO specialized Center considers in all its products and services the four cross-cutting themes chosen by the Organization, i.e., Equity, Human Rights, Gender and Ethnicity.

The access indicators of the Virtual Health Library for the year 2019 are impressive. More than 10 million access sessions, +41 million pageviews, +6.5 million users of the information services offered by BIREME through the VHL Regional Portal. These services are intended to promote the democratization of equitable access to scientific and technical information in health, and to meet the information needs of health professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean.

World Leprosy Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of January, and establishing this date aims to raise awareness about a disease that many people believe to be extinct. Despite being completely treatable in a relatively simple way, leprosy has not been eradicated; and not only the disease is overlooked, but also those affected by it. To address this situation, the World Health Organization created the Global Strategy for Leprosy 2016-2020 called “Accelerating towards a leprosy-free world”.

In 2019, the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME) completed 53 years of uninterrupted work on behalf of the democratization of access, publication, and use of scientific information, knowledge, and evidence; a fact that is always celebrated and recognized by all its staff, especially during the end-of-year celebrations. On December 10th, all employees gathered to celebrate BIREME’s achievements and key results of 2019.

BIREME’s technical cooperation, as a PAHO/WHO specialized Center, with Latin American and Caribbean countries occurs through different pathways, including the official missions of BIREME/PAHO/WHO staff, whose specific objectives are to support the implementation of its technical cooperation program and its institutional alignment with the policies and procedures of the Organization, ensuring the transparency and development of its operations.

At the 1^st International Symposium on Integrative Pediatrics, held in São Paulo, SP, Brazil, on November 22 and 23, the representative of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization in Brazil, Dr. Socorro Gross Galiano, and the president of the Brazilian Academic Consortium for Integrative Health, Dr. Ricardo Ghelman, signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement.