Brazil Hosts WHO Conference to Increase Distribution of Foreign Doctors

Terra reported on May 22, 2013 that Brazil will host the upcoming 2013 World Health Organization conference to discuss the need for increased availability and distribution of foreign doctors and specialists in countries in need of professionals. The conference will be held in Recife, Brazil. Brazil was chosen as the host after leading the discussion of attracting foreign doctors as means for international cooperation in health policy. As well, Brazil has suffered from the shortage of available doctors in some of its poorest regions. In result, Brazil has hired 6,000 doctors from Cuba, Portugal, and Spain to work in these regions. The Ministry of Health shows that in such poor regions, there are only 1.8 doctors for every one thousand inhabitants, while rates in other countries are higher. Read Article