Brazil considers ways to allow Cuban doctors to stay

The Brazilian government is studying ways to regulate the stay of Cuban doctors interested in continuing to work in Brazil. The move is said to be in line with the efforts to strengthen public health services.

The amount of Cuban medics interested in staying in Brazil after the end of the deal between the two countries under the More Doctors program is still being estimated, and the Health Ministry is awaiting information from the Brazilian office with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), which mediates the pact.

Ministry advisers told Agência Brasil that, “concerned with the humanitarian issue, and, in partnership with the Federal Medicine Council and the Ministry of Education, the agency seeks a way to allow the re-integration of these professionals after the re-validation of their diplomas.”

Disagreement, refuge

The Brazil–Cuba medical cooperation pact was brought to an end in November last year, after the Cuban doctors disagreed with the new demands made by Brazil for its program, like having Cuban doctors take the diploma re-validation exam, known as Revalida.

The test serves to prove the knowledge of Brazilian and foreign doctors who had their diplomas issued overseas and seek to exercise the profession in Brazil.

Since the creation of the More Doctors program, in 2013, the number of Cuban applying for refuge in Brazil has increased. In 2013, 69 applied for refugee status. Applications saw a surge every year: 113 (2014), 422 (2015), 1,121 (2016), 2,020 (2017), and 2,743 (2018). In 2017, Cubans made up the second largest group with the highest number of refuge requests in Brazil, second only to Venezuelans.

*Paula Laboissière contributed to this article.