Cuban doctors start leaving Brazil
Cuban doctors working in Brazil under the More Doctors program will start to leave the country Thursday (Nov. 22), according to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), tasked with the partnership between Brazil and Cuba.
The organization estimates that the departure of all 8 thousand doctors hired as part of the initiative is to be complete by December 12.
In the coming three days, five flights will head for Havana. The medics have already started to leave the Brazilian municipalities where they were stationed and now head for the cities from which the planes will take off.
Their return to Cuba was a decision made by the Cuban government, which did not agree with the conditions imposed by Brazilian President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro on doctors planning to stay in the country. Among them is the requirement to take the Revalida exam, to validate medical degrees obtained overseas, and the payment of full salaries, as a portion of it is retained by the Cuban government.
Cuban health authorities said the requirements contravene the conditions agreed upon under the agreement with PAHO.
Replacement
The period to fill in applications for vacant posts started on Wednesday (Nov. 21), and is slated to end on November 25.
Applicants will be given a chance to choose the cities where they plan to work in the order they are hired. They have to start reporting in the selected location on December 3 so they can officially take their posts and start working. A new tender will be invited November 27, in case there are posts still left vacant.
