Rahael: Health Library to be launched to make info more accessible to public

Speaking at the launch of the National Advisory Committee (NAC) of the VHL at NALIS building, Rahael said the Caribbean had a rich tradition of health research however, useful information "tends to remain among members of the higher echelons of the scientific field in our region, unless it is systematically organised and disseminated to the wider population." He said VHL will bridge the information gap in scientific and health research.

Rahael said the VHL will be a highly organised network of information resources. Users will be able to access information on local health-related events, medical and other scientific journals, health dictionaries, news, directories and consumer health information. He said the launch of the NAC marked an important step in the establishment of the VHL. This view was endorsed by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), country representative Lilian Reneau-Vernon who said the NAC met more than a week ago and its members demonstrated seriousness and commitment to the VHL initiative.

Reneau-Vernon said, "The VHL is in reality a broad base of scientific and technical knowledge in health, entered, organised and stored in electronic format, stimulated in virtual space on the Internet, universally accessible and compatible with international databases."

She said users from different levels and locations would be able to interact and navigate in the space of one or more information sources regardless of their physical location.

The establishment of the VHL stems from an agreement signed in 1998 by delegates at the 6th meeting of Latin American and Caribbean System on Health Sciences Information. It urged governments of the region to support the strengthening of National Health Information Systems, facilitate coordination of relevant national plans, and assign and mobilise necessary resources for a VHL to be established.

The VHL is being supported by Bireme — the Latin American and Caribbean Centre on Health Sciences Information, a specialised centre of PAHO. Reneau-Vernon said agreement has been reached among health information professionals in TT to adopt the VHL and for participating institutions to collaborate and accept responsibility for undertaking specific sub-project areas to ensure success.

Bireme started the first phase of training for the VHL yesterday and it will continue until July 1. It is targetting technical assistance from the Health Ministry, UWI library, PAHO, Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and NALIS. The second phase of training will begin next week for library staff and other collaborating organistions.

The NAC will be overseeing the VHL project. It is headed by Ernesta Greenidge, head of UWI’s Medical Sciences library and is comprised of representatives from CAREC, NALIS, PAHO, UWI, Regional Health Authorities and Ministries of Health and Public Administration.

The website for the VHL is expected to be launched later this year.