First 400 Cuban doctors to arrive in Brazil next week

Criado em 22/08/13 12h23 e atualizado em 23/08/13 11h14
Por Aline Leal Valcarenghi Edição:Fábio Massalli / Nira Foster Fonte:Agência Brasil

Brasília – As part of its continued efforts to put doctors in every municipality in the country, under the Brazilian government's More Doctors Program, the Ministry of Health announced this week that it signed an agreement with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to bring 4,000 Cuban doctors to work in Brazil. Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, explained that the Cuban doctors will help meet the demand in part of the 701 underserved municipalities not chosen by any doctors in the first phase of the More Doctors Program.
The first 400 Cubans arrive on Monday (August 26) and will have to pass an evaluation examination similar to what other foreign diploma holders that enrolled in the first phase of the More Doctors Program had to take. According to Padilha, all the doctors that are coming in this first wave specialize in family and community practice and have previously participated in other international missions. Over 84% of them have more than 16 years of experience practicing medicine.
The minister also revealed that on October 4th, another 2,000 doctors will arrive from Cuba.
Under the agreement, the Ministry of Health will pay $211.43 million to PAHO, which is responsible for negotiating the hires with the Cuban government. The jobs are offered under the same conditions as those for the other participating doctors, including monthly wages of $4,137. However, the exact salaries the Cuban doctors will receive are still open to negotiation. “The Ministry provides the same individual pay [as that offered to non-Cuban doctors], but it's up to PAHO to negotiate the final value with the Cuban government,” Padilha explained.

Edition: Fábio Massalli / Nira Foster
Translation: Allen Bennett / Mayra Borges