During the signing of the technical cooperation agreement between the University Foundation of Health Sciences (FUCS) and the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) for the consolidation and positioning of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) in Colombia, held on September 12 in Bogota, the Representative of PAHO/WHO Colombia, Dr. Gina Watson, highlighted the points that support the VHL strategy as an open window to knowledge and the importance of applying reality-based knowledge to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), close the knowledge gap and the importance of applying reality-based knowledge to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Gina Watson highlighted the points that support the VHL strategy as an open window to knowledge and the importance of applying knowledge based on reality to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), close the inequity gap and end poverty.
Dr. Gina Watson acknowledged that the VHL Colombia is living a new stage in its history that will allow a new perspective for the country to share information and knowledge in health, now with the leadership of FUCS, which was represented by its Rector Sérgio Augusto Parra.
The following are some of the general ideas expressed by Dr. Gina Watson:
"For PAHO, the VHL is not simply an institutional issue. The VHL intends to open knowledge to all those who need to use it in the health field - academics, clinicians, students and the general population The VHL is sustained by the logic of networking that unites libraries, academic institutions and other sectors and that are supported by BIREME, which makes this work accessible to all."
"In today's world, with technological development and virtual networks, there is all the more reason not to make available to users, our public health thinkers and colleagues in the health field all the information available globally, but particularly the production of the Organization at the level of the Region of the Americas and in conjunction with the WHO".
"Today this Virtual Library Network is positioned as one of the most representative sources of biomedical information in Latin America and the Caribbean, with presence in 30 countries and 115 national and thematic instances and, still with the expectation and capacity to grow."
"Today, more than ever, medical practice and health actions have to be supported by evidence that can be validated and that is really based on critical reality, and allow us, over the course of the next 15 years, to be the generation that will close the inequity gap, end poverty and try to save our planet."
"Through BIREME, we have an open window to the world of scientific knowledge, an unrestricted window to many globally structured sources that can be useful to everyone at any time. To the extent that we have greater knowledge of what we do we are convinced that we can advance, progress and achieve what we all want, which is universal health."
In summary, all this reflects the need to be able to implement and apply information and knowledge, and also to develop the capacity to innovate and meet the needs of the countries in the region with the participation of BIREME.
