All 682 foreign physicians hired by Brazil are taking a one-week-long familiarization course in eight state capitals before starting working in several municipalities in the north and northeast of the country on September 23.
It is the last part of the training program taken by the doctors, including 400 Cuban physicians, and it was extended for another seven days in order to consolidate their preparation in the states where they will work. The medical professionals traveled to the state capitals, where they will get acquainted with public hospitals and clinics, the main diseases reported in each region and people's living conditions, according to spokespersons for the Brazilian Health Ministry.
The physicians responded to a call from Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in July, when she presented the More Doctors program to spread medical attention to all citizens.
Defending the program, Rousseff said recently that the government would bring as many foreign doctors as necessary to guarantee people's access to healthcare.
She recalled that 701 municipalities have no doctors and the foreign physicians will solve an emergency, as the government cannot wait for Brazilians medical students to graduate.
Some 1,000 Brazilian doctors joined the program, in addition to 682 physicians from Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba, who arrived in August to render their services in rural regions, indigenous communities and the outskirts of big cities.
The agreement signed by the Brazilian Health Ministry and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) establishes the arrival of 4,000 Cuban doctors in Brazil by the end of the year.