Brazil holds to recruitment of foreign doctors

Brasília – The Brazilian government restated on Tuesday (September 17) that it does not intend to go back on its decision to hire foreign doctors to take them to underserverd areas through the More Doctors program, in spite of the opposition expressed by medical organizations.

Brazil’s health minister Alexandre Padilha regarded as “tactless” boycott attempts and the actions taken by medical organizations, and he emphasized: “We’ve already faced a boycott attempt when the applications were submitted and all judicial actions were overcome. Now, there’s an official statement from the AGU [Office of the Solicitor-General of the Union] that determines, once again, that the Regional Medical Councils should follow strictly what’s set out by the law. We won’t tolerate any attempt to hinder arrival of the doctors.”

AGU’s statement, issued at the request of the Ministry of Health, says that the Regional Medical Councils are not allowed to hinder the admission of foreign doctors by requiring them extra documents. But the Federal Medical Council declared on Monday (September 16) that the extra documents will still be required.

The health minister added: “We’ll keep discussing the measures adopted by the government to ensure that the program is carried out. We’ll fight until the end. What keeps us going is our goal: to take doctors to the millions of Brazilians unserved by local health care units in their municipalities.”

Padilha further stated: “Sometimes I think it’s a tactless attitude towards all the Brazilians suffering because they lack the services of these professionals. We’ve given Brazilian doctors the opportunity to work and be paid a net salary of [US$ 4,421]. Out of the thousand doctors who have finished their registration process, half are already working. Now Brazilians and health care units remain uncared for. We’ll look for doctors in other countries.”

Editors: Carolina Pimentel / Lícia Marques
Translators: Fabrício Ferreira