Resignations at Mais Médicos Grow to 19 Percent After Cubans Withdraw

By Arkady Petrov

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some 19 percent of Brazilian doctors who joined Mais Médicos left the program in May. Data collected by G1 from the Ministry of Health show that, so far, 1,325 professionals with Brazilian professional registration have disassociated themselves from Mais Médicos.

The number of terminations grew 25 percent over the previous balance, showing 1,052 doctors quitting in the first three months of the year.

Following Cuba’s withdrawal from the program in November, a notice was issued to fill the 8,517 openings left by Cubans in Mais Médicos.

In total, 7,120 vacancies were filled by doctors trained in Brazil.

A new notice, published in December, offered the 1,397 remaining vacancies to Brazilian physicians trained abroad.

The Ministry of Health claims there are no withdrawals in this group: all have completed the compulsory reception module and were sent to the municipalities chosen during the call.

Several Brazilian municipalities have experienced a shortage of doctors in health services since Cuban professionals left.

In Greater São Paulo, for instance, 19 cities have 106 idle jobs due to the departure of Cubans.

On Monday, 13th, the Ministry of Health issued a new notice for the Mais Médicos program. The goal is to hire at least 2,000 doctors to work in 790 municipalities in need or inaccessible, where approximately 6 million people live.

In a statement sent on Wednesday, 22nd, the Ministry of Health states that, currently, the priority of medical care is for municipalities with greater social vulnerability.