Cris/Fiocruz is renamed WHO Collaborating Center

Fiocruz Global Health Center (Cris/Fiocruz) was renamed as a Collaborating Center for Global Health and South-South Cooperation of the World Health Organization (WHO) on June.

A Collaborating Center of WHO is an institution designated by the Director-General of the institution to integrate an international collaborative network, carrying out technical activities and supporting programs in the area of health. Cris/Fiocruz became a Collaborating Center in 2014 and the new term will be valid for the next four years.

Among the cooperation activities developed during the last four years were the production of studies and reports, organization of seminars, participation in international events, conducting courses and other human resources qualification activities, translation of documents and support for other institutions and networks of international cooperation between institutions of Latin American countries and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Rio Political Declaration on Social Determinants of Health, a series of commitments to reduce health inequities signed by heads of State and other political leaders in 2011, are priorities in the work of Cris as a collaborating center.

Other actions implemented in this area include the launch of the book “Diplomacia em saúde e saúde global: Uma perspectiva latino-americana” [Diplomacy in health and global health: A Latin American perspective] and support for founding a virtual health library in Portuguese, housed on the platform ePORTUGUÊSe. The library is a way to facilitate access to relevant content produced by WHO to health professionals from Portuguese-speaking countries. Since Portuguese is not part of the six official languages of the UN, many important information was not translated into this language.

Cris/Fiocruz also operates as a focal point for the other five WHO collaborating centers at Fiocruz. Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School (EPSJV/Fiocruz) is a Collaborating Center for Education of Health Technicians, the National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira (IFF/Fiocruz) operates in the area of Childhood Blindness, the Nucleus for Pharmaceutical Care at the Sergio Arouca National School of Public Health (Ensp/Fiocruz) is a Collaborating Center on Pharmaceutical Policies, the Office of the Vice President of Environment and Healthcare (VPAAS/Fiocruz) on Environmental and Public Health and Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz) on Leptospirosis.