Category: Sin categoría

At the initiative and leadership of the Ministry of Health of El Salvador, through its National Institute of Health, in collaboration with PAHO/WHO in the country and with BIREME, between January 27^th and 31^st, an intense week of activities, meetings and workshops with representatives of academic, governmental and scientific associations was held, with the main objective of reorganizing the National Documentary Health Information Network (RENIDS) and reactivating the Virtual Health Library in the country.

The technical cooperation of the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (BIREME/PAHO/WHO) is characterized by its regional operation on behalf of equitable access to information, knowledge and scientific health evidence from countries in the Region. In the 2018-2019 biennium, BIREME/PAHO/WHO cooperated with more than ten Cooperation Agreements (TC) established between PAHO/WHO Brazil and the Ministry of Health.

In 2019, BIREME offered a series of webinars to the LILACS Network on Best Practices in the Editorial Processes for Scientific Journals for the LILACS Network. The objective was to revisit the fundamental steps in the editorial processes for scientific journals, to describe the best practices and provide a space for discussion and questions about the topics addressed with the editorial teams of the journals indexed in LILACS. An online survey of webinars revealed a high level of respondent satisfaction. The 2020 program is now available and registration is open.

BIREME has concentrated efforts to make the contents of its websites accessible to a greater number of people with disabilities, such as blindness or low vision, movement limitations and photosensitivity. This effort means following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), recommended by the W3C, the Consortium that develops and maintains the Web’s operating standards.

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.