Brazil’s new President wants to repeal the special scheme for Doctors of the Cuban regime. Havana is threatening to the more than 8000 doctors deduct. Almost 30 million Brazilians could lose your supply.
Up to the end of the year, Cuba will withdraw its 8332 Doctors from Brazil. For the past five years, the Caribbean island to participate in the program “Mais Médicos” (dt.: More Doctors), to close the supply gaps in the public health system, SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde). Now Havana has responded to Statements made by the in October, elected President of Brazil by Jair Bolsonaro. The declared opponents of the Communist government had linked the continuation of the program to more stringent requirements for the Cubans.
In August, he had promised at an election meeting, the Cuban Doctors the normal aptitude test, is in Brazil for foreign Doctors provided. According to Bolsonaro, one would throw you out. On Wednesday, he laid still once more and explained that there is no evidence that the Cubans were “real Doctors”.
Cuba had been at the Start of the “Mais Médicos”, in August 2013, that his Doctors were exempted from the aptitude test. In December 2017, Brazil’s Supreme court had upheld this as constitutional. In addition, the court held that Cuba’s government may almost retain three-quarters of Brazil paid salary for the financing of the training of Doctors in Cuba.
Cuban Doctors should decide for themselves
Bolsonaros statements had led in Havana to upsets. Already a few days ago the Cuba should be informed niches Doctors about the end of the cooperation. On Wednesday morning, then to Havana, made the withdrawal official.
In 2013, Brazilian Doctors staged a protest against the “Import” Cuban colleagues
“It is unacceptable that the Dignity, the professionalism and altruism of Cuba is made of the niches of the Doctors in question,” reads a statement from the Cuban Ministry of health. Brazil’s population to understand, who bears responsibility for ensuring that the Doctors can no longer perform their service to the Brazilian people.
“We have linked the continuation of the program of suitability tests by the Doctors and that the Doctors will receive the full salary, which is today in large part due to the dictatorship,” said Bolsonaro on Wednesday morning via Twitter. “We have also demanded that the Doctors can freely decide on their families to Brazil. Unfortunately, Cuba has not accepted this.”
On Wednesday afternoon, he reiterated once again that the previous agreement with Havana is portable. “I never would discuss with Cuba a contract to these terms and conditions.” The Doctors only a fraction of the salary slave work to pay off. “I’m a Democrat, unlike the PT,” said Bolsonaro, in allusion to the government of the leftist labor party, PT (Partido dos Trabalhadores), which launched in 2013, the programme in collaboration with the pan American health organization (OPAS), an Organ of the United Nations.
Remote areas are threatened with massive medical supply
Currently, measures would be analyzed to ensure the supply of the affected population, the Brazilian Ministry of health in a first opinion. In the next few days they would start tenders for the vacant places. As noted in the earlier tenders of Brazilian Doctors would get priority over foreign candidates.
Already at the Start of the programme had been advertised, however, only a few Brazilians. For one, the pay in the private health sector is usually better, in addition, the working conditions – especially in the remote regions – as a precarious.
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Due to the lack of Brazilian applicants, more than 11,000 Cubans were temporarily in use. Currently, 8332 Cuban Doctors in Brazil are registered. This corresponds to 51 percent of the total quota of the program. Further in 1519, the overall totalling 18,240 seats are vacant, according to the Ministry of health.
In some places, 90 percent of the Doctors are Cubans
The former health Minister Alexandre Padilha, who had been launched under President Dilma Rousseff of the program, criticized Bolsonaro via Twitter. “It is a sad day for the public health system of Brazil, as well as for the foreign policy of Brazil. Such things happen when one is in the spirit of the war and the ideology, if the conflict in the interests of the Brazilian people.” Bolsonaro had unprepared traded, so Padilha.
The Cubans are in all 27 Federal States of Brazil. Of the withdrawal of the Cubans, especially in remote regions, and the peripheries of the big cities will be affected. Particularly hard on the indigenous territories. Cuba has 301 physicians, 90 percent of all Doctors.
Also, the arms of the Hinterland is affected. In the Sertão Baiano, a dry Savannah region in the North-Eastern state of Bahia, the Cubans sometimes up to 80 percent of all Doctors. Overall, the 846 Cuban Doctors in Bahia, 20 percent of all professionals in the SUS. Your withdrawal would be a severe blow to the supply of the population, said Cristiano Soster from the health Secretariat of the daily newspaper “Folha de S. Paulo”. “We fall back, therefore, on the level of eight years ago. Around three million inhabitants in Bahia will be without Doctors.”
“Irreparable damage” for Brazilians
The Brazilian cities “Frente Nacional de Prefeitos” (FNP), as well as the merger of the ministries of health of the state governments “Conselho Nacional de Secretarias Municipais de Saúde” (Conasems) expressed regret on Wednesday in a joint statement, the end of the cooperation with the Caribbean island. They called on the new government to reconsider its Position and for the “Mais Médicos” rules to maintain. The population of the threat in the event of the withdrawal of the Cubans “irreparable damage”.
In 2013, The then Minister of health, Alexandre Padilha is advertising the program “Mais Medicos”
“The abrupt Revocation of the valid contracts means a cruel loss for the entire population and particularly for the poorest people. We must not move away from the Constitution of the comprehensive health care promise. And we must not do anything which could lead to,” said the organizations. Without the Cuban Doctors 29 million Brazilians would lose their supply, they warn. It’s a Disaster threatens: “From the 5570 municipalities of the country 3228 exclusively Doctors of the program.” An overwhelming majority of the population is of the Belief that the health care had been improved by the program.
Controversial discussions on the Internet
On the Internet the end of the bilateral cooperation was discussed passionately. “Sad, you destroyed everything, what was good for the Poorest in Brazil,” commented a reader from the Hinterland of São Paulo, in the “Folha de S. Paulo”. Bolsonaro was a “paranoid Anti-Communist,” a Folha-reader from the Amazon region. “Let’s see how the critics of the programme, the shortage of Doctors in the whole of Brazil are going to solve.”
“No one is talking about human rights,” countered another reader. “The Cuban Doctors to perform slave labor, your government is using you and holding your family members hostage. Let’s see how many of the Doctors are here to request asylum.” On Wednesday Bolsonaro had offered to all Cubans asylum, the do not want to go back.