Throughout the Region, the Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH) facilitates the development of local networks dedicated to educational initiatives that align with national technical cooperation priorities, primarily through the establishment of Country Nodes. These efforts are coordinated by PAHO Country Offices in collaboration with a variety of institutions, including ministries of health, subnational governments, universities, and professional associations—which actively engage according to their respective mandates to manage local resources and platforms that advance each country’s health agenda.
Country Nodes are an organizational framework used to manage training priorities in PAHO Country Offices and national teams through decentralization. This model allows technical cooperation to be tailored to the distinct processes and requirements of each country.
Following the virtualization prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the VCPH experienced a significant increase in demand for the development of educational proposals. The emergency virtualization of PAHO’s technical cooperation efforts relied heavily on this institutional platform. In response, it became necessary to strengthen the regional structure and consolidate governance mechanisms to ensure an effective response. Countries also expanded their virtual initiatives through the VCPH Country Nodes. Initial efforts focused on supporting mass vaccination campaigns, followed by the revitalization of training activities from various programs to reinforce public health actions targeting diverse audiences and population groups. New proposals also emerged in alignment with PAHO/WHO mandates.
After the emergency phase, with online education gaining acceptance, it became clear that tutors and coordinators needed support in virtual teaching. The VCPH created reference materials, increased regional pedagogical assistance, and updated its Educational Approach documents to meet changing needs.
Governance Model
Country Nodes are groups of various institutions working together under a coordinated structure. Each Country Node, led by the PAHO Representation, consists of the national health authority, subnational entities, and a network of organizations involved in its management within the national framework.
Country Nodes use various organizational structures based on their maturity and institutional development. Each Node consists of at least these three components:
- A steering group led by a PAHO advisor,
- A technical secretariat, and
- A workplan.
The technical secretariat and work plan must be renewed on a biennial basis.
The objectives of the Country Node are to:
- Strengthening PAHO’s technical cooperation at the national level through strategic alignment with the training actions developed within the VCPH Node.
- Establish a streamlined mechanism for the development, monitoring, and evaluation of implemented activities.