Havana, August 26 (Pl-RHC), -- The experience of Cuban doctors is cardinal in Brazil, said the representative of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization, Joaquin Molina, in statements to Cuban television.
"I can certainly say today that the experience of Cuban doctors in Brazil is a success the Brazilian people are going to appreciate for life," he said about the work carried out by the Medical Brigade of the Island as part of the More Doctors Program that benefits 63 million people with health care.
The impact of the More Doctors program in Brazil, initiated by President Dilma Rousseff, is very significant, and has met the demands of all Brazilian municipalities, said Deputy Health Minister of Brazil, Heider Aurelio Pinto, also in remarks to Cuba's television news program.
The initiative involves more than 18,000 doctors in over 4,000 municipalities, 34 indigenous special districts and all the country's provinces, and most doctors (11,000) are Cubans, said Pinto.
This has resulted in an improvement in all health indicators, an increase in the number of appointments and in primary care practices like mental health, the attention to the children, pregant women, people with chronic diseases, a reduction in hospital admission and a greater satisfaction in the population, he said.
Meanwhile, Doctor Cristina Luna, Head of the Mission of the More Doctors Program, said that all the members of the Cuban medical brigade in Brazil are specialists in General Medicine, known in Brazil as family medicine.
They have overcome the language barrier to get to know a different health care system and even take boats very early in the morning to go and treat the needy wherever they are, in places never visited by a doctor before, said Luna.
Brazilian patients were never visited and treated by a doctor in their own houses, explained Doctor Arahi Quesada.
Since they have been here they are always on time and always treat patients well, said several Brazilian villagers, including Manuel Oliveira, who added that "I would like more Cuban doctors to be here."
"Being the way we are, we have managed to win their confidence as we hear and examine them, devote time to them and look for the causes of their problems and try to solve them; we are the ones who do not transfer the patients to other specialists because we can solve their problems," said Cuban doctor Jacqueline Junco.
