Brazil welcomes another 2,000 Cuban doctors

Two thousand Cuban doctors are arriving in Brazil as of Tuesday (Jan. 28) via Brasília, São Paulo, and Fortaleza as part of phase 3 of the More Doctors Program. For this phase, an additional 891 doctors who applied individually are also coming.

Temporary licenses will be provided to the foreign doctors who successfully complete a required three-week onboarding and assessment module beginning on Monday (Feb. 3) before they can begin working for the program on March 5. The start date for Brazilian doctors is February 3.

The 891 individual applicants – consisting of 423 doctors holding licenses or diplomas revalidated in Brazil and 468 others who obtained their qualifications overseas – will be allocated to work in 412 municipalities and eight Special Indigenous Health Districts (DSEI). Out of this group, 274 doctors are going to work in the Northeast; 230 in the Southeast; 178 in the South; 123 in the North, and 86 in the Central-West region. The work locations of the Cuban doctors are still pending.

Health Minister Alexandre Padilha explained that "this new wave of doctors will add up to a total 9,500 medical workforce providing care in the poorest and most underserved areas for the most vulnerable populations."

A total 6,658 health care workers are currently working under the More Doctors Program across 2,166 municipalities and 28 Indigenous Health Districts. The government aims to complete 13,000 workers by the end of March.

Translated by Mayra Borges