Return of Cuban Doctors Afflicts Brazilian People (+Photo)

Havana, Dec 2 (Prensa Latina) Brazilians are very sad because of our departure, said Dr. Giannis del Toro, upon returning to Cuba after two years in Brazil as part of the More Doctors program.

In statements to Prensa Latina, the young specialist from the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba said that her mission was carried out in a very poor place in the Brazilian geography where the population lacked medical assistance.

She also highlighted the importance of the work done by the Cuban health professionals in Brazil, because patients before they arrived were unable access health services. Medical care will again worsen with the return of the doctors to Cuba.

'I am very satisfied with the work performed by my colleagues and me, we return with our heads held high, we cannot allow anyone to discredit Cuban doctors, dignity cannot be changed for money,' del Toro stressed.

For her part, Dr. Liutmila Soler commented on her experience in her four years of mission and stressed that many elderly people in the area where she was, met a doctor thanks to her presence.

We visited the most remote places twice a week and we worked without a break so that we could take care of as many patients as possible, Soler said.

The specialist from the eastern province of Granma described as wise the decision of Cuba of withdrawing from the More Doctors program, after unfounded questioning by President-elect Jair Bolsonaro.

According to official data, some 113 million Brazilians in more than 3,600 municipalities were treated by Cuban doctors since the beginning of the More Doctors program five years ago.

The doctors that arrived this morning come from nine states of Brazil, such as Ceara, Bahia, Piaui, Espiritu Santo, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Minas Gerais, Marañon, and Amapa.

With the first flight on Saturday, more than 2,000 health professionals have arrived from Brazil since the beginning of the return process on November 22.