Sunday, December 1, 2013

Cuban doctors tend to Brazil's poor, giving Rousseff a boost

Cuban doctor Elisa Barrios Calzadilla inspects a patient during a house call in the city of Itiuba in the state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil By Anthony Boadle JIQUITAIA, Brazil (Reuters) - They were heckled and called slaves of a communist state when they first landed, but in the poorest corners of Brazil the arrival of 5,400 Cuban doctors is being welcomed as a godsend. The program to fill gaps in the national health system with foreign doctors, mainly from Cuba, could become a big vote-winner for President Dilma Rousseff as she eyes a second term in next year's election despite fierce opposition from Brazil's medical class. The move to tap Cuba's doctors-for-export program begun by former leader Fidel Castro became a priority for Rousseff after massive protests against corruption and shoddy public transport, education and healthcare services rocked Brazil in June. Brasilia signed a three-year contract to bring thousands of Cuban doctors to work in poor and remote areas where Brazilian physicians prefer not to practice.








via Health News Headlines - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/cuban-doctors-tend-brazils-poor-giving-rousseff-boost-141952665.html

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