The establishment of the GHL aims to "strengthen, promote and develop worldwide networks on the collection, organization, dissemination and universal access to reliable health sciences information."

The GHL proposal is aligned with the WHO specific orientations to reduce the know-do gap in healthcare, decrease inequities in health, improve quality of health services, and to make circulation, translation, transformation and use of scientific knowledge in health policies and practices sustainable.
Based on existing initiatives, virtual libraries, networks, systems, products and services and to increase their interoperability, visibility and accessibility, the main objective of the GHL proposal is to maximize cooperative activities in networks and minimize duplications. The GHL is designed to create the global space that will promote and progressively connect local, national, regional and international flows of information on health.

The suggestion to establish the GHL was publicly launched in September 2005, during the 9th World Congress on Health Information and Libraries (ICML9) and the 7th Regional Congress on Health Sciences Information (CRICS7), held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

In order to implement the GHL in the next years, the WHO prepared the GHL Framework, aiming to socialize the concept of a global library, its principles, operational structure and governance, as well as the respective plan of action.

Setting a framework is necessary for the GHL implementation due to its complex and decentralized network operation. Moreover national, regional and international institutions from all over the world and from several thematic areas are expected to increasingly participate in the effort.

The plan of action provides implementing the GHL framework up to the end of 2007, when it will operate regularly, negotiating a business model and a long-term plan of action for five years (from 2008 to 2012).

Preparing the GHL framework - LNK and BIREME

The GHL framework was prepared in a collective participation process involving the representatives of all WHO Regional Offices, and conducted by the WHO, through the Knowledge Management and Sharing (KMS) Area, coordinated by Ariel Pablo-Mendez.

The framework was jointly prepared by the WHO Library and Information Networks for Knowledge (LNK) Coordinator, Yvonne Grandbois, and by the Director of the BIREME/PAHO/WHO, Abel L. Packer. The reference used was the Virtual Health Library (VHL) model and the experience gathered in its development in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as the regional information networks coordinated by the WHO regional offices: AFRO, PAHO, EMRO, EURO, SEARO, WPRO.

The preliminary version of the framework was presented and discussed in a seminar with the library service representatives at the WHO Regional offices, held in Geneva, on October 8-11, 2006. The methodological and technological platform suggested for GHL operation was also discussed. The seminar was attended by Ariel Pablos-Méndez (KMS/WHO), Yvonne Grandbois (LNK/WHO), Abel L. Packer (BIREME/PAHO), Ernesto Spinak (BIREME/PAHO), Charles Raby (WPRO), Mohamed Atani (AFRO), Hatem Nour El-din (EMRO), Anca Dumitrescu (EURO), Avril Reid (LNK/WHO), Tomas Allen (LNK/WHO), Ian Roberts (LNK/WHO), Margaret Daly (LNK/WHO) and Samia Reffas (HON).