July 2011

Theme: Science and power: managing knowledge in bioethics, diplomacy and health

Lecturer: Ilma Noronha
Coordinator of library network at Fiocruz
Moderator: Pedro Urra
Director of Bireme/PAHO/WHO
Coordinator: Emir Suaiden
Director of IBICT and professor of the Postgraduate program in information science from UnB

Summary
The sixth meeting of 2011 of the “Cycle of Debates on Bioethics, and Health Diplomacy” was held,  sponsored by the Center for Bioethics and Diplomacy Studies in Health (NETHIS), in partnership with the graduate program in bioethics at the University of Brasilia, with support of the Regional Direction of Brasilia of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ Brasília) and of PAHO/WHO/Brazil, on the theme “Science and power: managing knowledge in bioethics, diplomacy and health” and attended, as a lecturer, by Dr. Ilma Noronha (ICICT/FIOCRUZ); as moderator Mr Pedro Urra (BIREME/PAHO/OMS) and, as Coordinator, Dr. Emir Suaiden (IBICT).

Before the lecture, there was the launch of the Virtual Health Library on Bioethics and Health Diplomacy from NETHIS, with presentation of the Dr. José Paranaguá Santana, Coordinator of the Center. He presented the VHL utility for those who are interested in the study of the interrelation between the fields of bioethics, health diplomacy and public health. In particular, he pointed out that the core scientific works are, conceptually, the notion of field elaborated by Pierre Bourdieu. Then, there were lectures from Dr. Claudio Lorenzo, from UnB, and Dr. Nísia Trindade Lima, from Fiocruz.

The speaker pointed out that in Brazil, currently, it is lived the paradox that, while the current national scientific policy recognizes that scientific information is a public good and a right of citizenship, access remains restricted, as well as its share and use remain limited. Despite the achievements, in Brazil there is still a lot to advance towards free access.

The moderator, responding to the question of the speaker, about what can be done to improve open access to information on health in Brazil, presented the priorities which he considers should be faced: to develop national capacities to manage the open access, to produce international or global public goods and to realize that health exists in the context of society as an intersectoral theme. These priorities must be carried out with respect to the meeting between ethics and science.

This cycle of debates represented once again a relevant contribution to the construction of NETHIS works, showing that NETHIS is in the way of its maturation as a scientific space and that it has much to contribute with the access to knowledge in the field of bioethics, at its intersection with health diplomacy and public health – the Virtual Health Library is a critical step in this direction.
Access the report (PDF)

Presentations

Launching of the VHL – Tyara Barbosa

{edocs}Documents/launching_vhl_area_thematic_nethis.pdf,420,348{/edocs}

Images – Launching VHL NETHIS

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