BRASILIA: Brazil said yesterday it was negotiating with Havana potentially to hire and bring in around 6,000 Cuban doctors to work in areas where needed in the South American nation.
“Brazil is looking into the possibility of taking in a number of Cuban doctors” through talks that involve the Pan-American Health Organization,” Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota said after meeting his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez.
He said an estimated 6,000 Cuban health professionals would be deployed in areas where there was a shortage of medical facilities.
Income from Cuban medical staff overseas, particularly in Venezuela, is a key source of hard currency for the Americas’ only Communist-ruled nation.
Brazil, the world’s seventh largest economy enjoying virtually full employment despite sluggish economic growth, has been facing a shortage of skilled labour, particularly engineers and doctors.
Brazil is Cuba’s sixth trading partner and first food supplier. It is also the second recipient of Cuban medicines and vaccines, according to Havana. Agencies
