Development of the Venezuela node of the Virtual Campus for Public Health

Abstract

The objective of this document is to describe the steps in the development of the country node of the Virtual Campus for Public Health (VPHC) in Venezuela, with a view to enhancing continuing education in virtual learning environments and strengthening the abilities and knowledge of health workers, which was defined as a national priority. Eliminating geographical barriers, offering flexible schedules, and providing opportunities for real-time, low-cost interaction with experts were key aspects of the development of the Venezuela node. The VPHC nodes offered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), both at the regional and country levels, allow for large-scale training of health workers. However, despite similarities in public health issues at the global and regional levels, each country has specific needs according to its epidemiological, political, social, and economic situation, and has to respond to needs identified at the local level. In Venezuela, the focus is on strengthening competencies and providing continuing education to the 13 921 basic health teams deployed in the country's 24 states. It was in this context that the PAHO country office supported the development of the Venezuela node of the VPHC.