BIREME Bulletin n. 91

From September 30 to October 4, 2024, at the 61st PAHO Directing Council, BIREME is presenting its products and services at an interactive booth, promoting digital transformation in health information management. Director João Paulo Souza and manager Verônica Abdala highlight strategic partnerships, new initiatives and innovative solutions, while provoking reflections on the capacity of health systems in the Americas to promote scientific knowledge in different health contexts.

Three new countries were elected to the BIREME Advisory Committee during the 61st Directing Council of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), held from September 30 to October 4, 2024. From 2025 to 2027, representatives nominated by the Ministries of Health of Colombia, Honduras, and Jamaica will participate in the Center’s annual governing meetings and contribute to the formulation of recommendations that will strengthen BIREME’s projects, products, and services, as well as support innovation in its technical cooperation program with countries in the Region.

On a recent mission to India, BIREME Director João Paulo Souza participated in a WHO technical meeting on the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate the integration of Traditional Medicine into national health systems. The progress of the WHO Global Library of Traditional Medicine, developed by BIREME using a Scrum approach, and the creation of a global user community were presented.

BIREME and Brazil’s Ministry of Health have set up a Directing Committee responsible for the technical cooperation projects “Updating the Second Formative Opinion Program” and “Decision Aids”. This committee is responsible for guiding the coordination of the development of these initiatives aimed at supporting decision-making in health. The Technical-Scientific Committee for these projects will also be set up shortly, establishing essential governance bodies for carrying out the activities.

BIREME is adopting a strategy focused on technological innovation, prioritizing agile methodologies and solutions that directly meet the needs of users. Among the innovations under development are the generation of texts by artificial intelligence, automatic document indexing tools, the incorporation of Large Language Models into the VHL and content personalization. The use of these technologies aims to optimize the user experience, improve access to information and increase the efficiency of BIREME’s processes.

At the PAHO Brazil booth, BIREME presented products and services dedicated to supporting the decision-making of managers, researchers, and health workers on issues related to tropical medicine. The 59^th MEDTROP Congress, held in São Paulo in September, promoted essential discussions on tropical and neglected diseases, reinforcing the need for an integrated and multisectoral approach, as advocated by the “One Health” concept.