March is celebration month for BIREME: 52 years of the Center on the 3rd, and on the 27th, 21 years of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), the main technical cooperation strategy. These are important dates and celebrations, as they strengthen the institutionality of the Center, which acts regionally with all Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
The first meeting between BIREME Director, Dr. Diego González, and the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Dr. Erno Harzheim, took place in Brasilia on March 20, with the purpose of discussing the country’s technical cooperation with the PAHO/WHO Specialized Regional Center. Alongside Dr. González, Dr. Socorro Gross, PAHO/WHO Representative in Brazil, and Janine Coutinho, PAHO/WHO Brazil Knowledge Management consultant were also present.
BIREME organizes and delivers a workshop on access and use of scientific evidence for supporting decisions and interventions related to collective health problems in the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo, an initiative of the Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic, with the support of the PAHO/WHO Representation in the country.
BIREME and PAHO/WHO Venezuela have increased efforts for the reactivation of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) and the visibility for scientific output on health information produced in the country through the strengthening of the network of Cooperating Centers and the participation of the Asociación de Editores de Revistas Biomédicas.
Once again, students from Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Brazil visited BIREME to participate at courses on Scholarly Communication and Access to Information, within the framework of the partnership established by the PAHO/WHO Specialized Center with the Latin American Federation of Scientific Societies of Medical Students (FELSOCEM).
Two important dates for public health in the Americas and the world are celebrated in March. World Water Day 2019, celebrated on the 22nd, brings forward the motto “Leaving No One Behind”, an adaptation to the central theme of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The World Tuberculosis Day, celebrated on March 24, this year has as its theme “It’s Time to Act. End Tuberculosis.