BIREME Bulletin n° 61

The tenth Session of the Advisory Committee of BIREME/PAHO/WHO, which took place virtually on October 7, 2021, had as its main objectives, once again, to hold the annual session and effectuate the exchange and communication with the members of the Committee; report on the progress of the Center’s management and technical cooperation activities, based on the recommendations made in 2020; and strengthen BIREME’s institutional framework in Brazil and with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Virtual Health Library of Nicaragua (Nicaragua VHL) was launched in an online/in presence event on October 26, promoted by the Vice Dean of Education, Directorate of the UNAN-Managua Library System in partnership with the PAHO Nicaragua Representation and had the participation of BIREME/PAHO/WHO. The initiative will contribute to increasing the availability and visibility of scientific and technical production in health in the country.

An article on MedCarib Database that BIREME contributed with has been recently published in the Caribbean Library Journal reporting and analyzing its main achievements and challenges, based on Trinidad and Tobago’s perspective. Trinidad and Tobago together with Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and other English-speaking Caribbean countries participate on the strengthening and maintenance of MedCarib database.

On October 20, the 15^th anniversary of the Virtual Health Library Network of Information and Knowledge (RIC VHL) was held via web conference. The RIC VHL is the result of the Technical-Scientific Information Management Project carried out in 2006 by the São Paulo State Department of Health (SES-SP) in partnership with BIREME/PAHO/WHO, with the objective of contributing to the strengthening of information and scientific and technical knowledge in health management in the state of São Paulo, using the VHL model.

The PAHO/WHO calendar of health dates is intended to save lives, increase the well-being and raise awareness about the main diseases that affect the populations of the Americas. BIREME offers specialized scientific and technical literature, selected from the databases that make up the VHL, on many of the health conditions listed in the calendar. Recently, new methodologies such as the Windows of Knowledge join the strategies developed by the Center to support the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases.

The BIREME Director Transfer process that took place on October 27 and 28 formalized the end of Diego González’s term as Director of the Center and the appointment of Sebastián García, Director of the Department of Evidence and Intelligence for Action in Health (EIH) of PAHO/WHO as Interim Director. On October 29th, employees of the Center gathered on a Zoom meeting to say goodbye to Diego González in a special edition of Café com Ideias.