NY Times Says Removing Cuba´s More Doctors Program Affects Brazilians

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Brazilian government´s decision on stopping Cuba´s More Doctors Program still affects 28 million people.

The information recalled that President Jair Bolsonaro said they could solve the absence of Cuban professionals counting on the graduation of about 20,000 physicians per year, but six months after having taken office in January, such statement has not become real.

On November 14, 2018, Cuba announced it would not continue in the aforementioned program ahead of Bolsonaro´s conditions, then elected President, who assured he would modify the Program´s terms and conditions, showing no respect for what the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had agreed with Cuba.

Likewise, last February, the Government of the right-wing President announced the decision to close More Doctors Program, a project designed by the Workers' Party in 2013 to bring health care to the most remote areas of Brazil, in which participated near 20,000 Cuban professionals.

'The willingness of Cuban physicians to work in difficult conditions became a cornerstone of the public health system,' Bahia told the New York Times.

According to a PAHO report, in the first four years of More Doctors Program, the percentage of Brazilians with primary care increased from 59.6 to 70 percent.

The departure of Cubans could reverse this trend, having especially serious consequences for children under five, and could lead to the death of up to 37,000 young children by 2030, warned Gabriel Vivas, a PAHO official.