Brazil opens 6,252 vacancies for doctors under Mais Médicos program
Brazil’s Mais Médicos (“More Doctors”) program has opened 6.252 posts in a bid to replace medics in locations no longer served by the federal initiative in the last six years.
The public tender was released Tuesday (Apr. 18) by the Ministry of Health and also expands the number of vacancies in areas that face difficulties retaining health agents. This is the first public call after the announcement of the program’s return, on March 20.
Jobs are distributed across 2,074 municipalities, with one thousand openings unprecedented in the Amazon region.
First introduced in 2013, the Mais Médicos program aims to ensure that Brazilians have access to health care in primary care stations—considered the gateway to the country’s public healthcare network, the SUS.
Health Minister Nísia Trindade talked about the role of the work done in SUS stations. “It is in the routine of health care services that problems are tackled and solutions built. It’s an ongoing learning process.”
The Ministry of Health urges city authorities to direct the professionals to primary care teams still lacking a doctor or those serving portions of the population that depend exclusively on public services, in addition to riverside, indigenous, and other underserved and traditional communities.
Cities are required to ensure housing, food, and drinking water for the medics in the program, as well as adequate transportation to their remote work stations.
By the end of 2023, the ministry is expected to open 15 thousand vacancies under Mais Médicos, thus surpassing 28 thousand professionals serving more than 96 million Brazilians. The government’s investment in the initiative this year stands at BRL 712 million.
