Cuba Withdraws Medical Aid from Brazil
Cuba announced on November 14 that the country would be removing thousands of doctors stationed throughout Brazil in response to “derogatory” comments made by President-elect Jair Bolsonaro. This removal could spark a healthcare crisis in Brazil, especially in already underserved rural communities.
Brazilian former-President Dilma Rousseff initiated the More Doctors program in 2013 to help underserved rural communities that faced a shortage of doctors. The program encourages doctors from foreign countries to work in Brazil. Currently, there are over 8,300 Cuban doctors in the program, out of 18,000 doctors in total. The Pan-American Health Organization manages the program, which sends over $250 million to Cuba every year from Brazil alone. Currently, Brazil pays the doctors’ salaries directly to the Cuban government, which then gives the doctors 25 percent of the earnings.
The More Doctors professionals provide health services to Brazilians whose towns had lacked healthcare professionals for years. The Brazilian government estimates that over 60 million people received healthcare access that they would not otherwise have. In the five years that the program has been operating, over 20,000 Cuban doctors worked in Brazil and treated 113 million patients. Out of the 2,800 towns that these doctors service, they are the only healthcare professionals in 1,700 of them.
In an interview earlier this month with Brazilian Mail, Bolsonaro stated that the salary administration and work conditions of Cuban doctors are improper. He claimed that the Cuban government stops doctors from bringing their families with them on their deployment. Currently, Cuban doctors do not have to take the certification test for foreign medical professionals in Brazil. Bolsonaro wishes to change this and mandate Cuban professionals validate their medical diplomas.
According to former-Health Minister Alexandre Padilha, the Cuban doctors are highly qualified and focus directly on rural medicine, something that Brazilian healthcare lacks significantly. Furthermore, Brazil already tests the medical credentials and Portuguese skills of Cuban doctors, contrary to Bolsonaro’s claim. The loss of Cuban medical professionals could be disastrous for rural populations that will now be without access to healthcare.
Some Cuban doctors have already arrived back in Cuba, and the majority will leave Brazil in the coming weeks. Bolsonaro has promised to grant asylum to any Cuban doctors that wish to remain behind, but it remains to be seen if this will result in enough doctors staying to maintain the quality of the healthcare system in rural Brazil.