The visit of the Executive Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs of Brazil’s Ministry of Health and staff of the General Coordination of Documentation and Information (CGDI) to BIREME’s facilities on August 4th was aimed at strengthening the institutional relationship with the Center and highlighting actions and results of technical cooperation under TA6/TC95.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health’s Virtual Health Library celebrated 20 years in a virtual event held on August 31st, with members from the Ministry of Health, BIREME/PAHO/WHO, and those responsible for the creation of the VHL at the time in attendance. During the event, the new website of the MS VHL, the commemorative anniversary stamp, and the Natural History of COVID-19 Window of Knowledge were launched.
The Natural History of Covid-19 Window of Knowledge was launched amid the event celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Virtual Health Library of Brazil’s Ministry of Health’s. The Window was created out of the need to understand Covid-19’s natural history, as an important prerequisite for the planning of new studies, being a product of the technical cooperation between BIREME and the Secretariat of Science, Technology, Innovation, and Strategic Health Inputs of the Ministry of Health of Brazil (SCTIE/MS), through of the Department of Science and Technology (DECIT).
The Cultura e Saúde exhibition, planned and executed by the Brazil’s Ministry of Health’s Cultural Center of the General Coordination of Documentation and Information, made possible with the support of BIREME/PAHO/WHO, the objective of which is to reveal the relationship between the concepts of culture and health, creating a playful and immersive atmosphere through reproductions of famous paintings, historical occurrences, scenic objects, and texts about local projects, among other elements. The display was inaugurated on August 3rd and will be open through the end of October in the tunnel that links the Headquarters and Annex buildings of the Ministry of Health, in Brasília, Federal District.
The Covid-19 global pandemic brought innumerous challenges to individuals and organizations that, due to teleworking caused by this public health emergency, had to reassess their way of operating so that their intellectual capital and operations could act in harmony, and necessarily with the support of information and communication technologies. Thus, BIREME/PAHO/WHO launched the Human Resources Administrative Newsletter, Fique por Dentro, which completed 54 editions in August.
BIREME continues to prioritize actions aimed at supporting countries with information and evidence for decision-making in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel, it has continued to comply with its 2020-2021 Biannual Work Plan made up of projects, products, and services framed in 4 initiatives: Information and Knowledge Management, Information Services, Information Intelligence in Health Sciences, and BIREME Leadership and Management. BIREME highlighted the main results related to its operation and technical cooperation program from the first half of 2021.