Castro Doctors Help Brazil Ease Shortage as Rules Relaxed
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Fresh paint and new examination tables attest to the recent inauguration of a clinic in Duque de Caxias on the impoverished outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. The only thing lacking is enough doctors.
That same failing plagues Latin America’s biggest economy, which needs 168,000 more physicians, according to the Brazilian government. Reacting to protests in June over the poor quality of health care and other public services, President Dilma Rousseff relaxed immigration and licensing rules to send foreign-trained doctors, including as many as 4,000 from communist Cuba, to areas where they are needed most.