Eighty four percent of the those places are in the North and Northeast of the country. The media tells us that, 3,511 municipalities enrolled in the program, showing an offer of 15,460 jobs. Only 15% of this total had been filled by August 21.

Each physician hired will cost the government 10,000 reais (US$ 4,200) in monthly wages, plus the costs of moving and payment of housing and food.

The deal for the hiring of Cuban doctors was made by the Brazilian government through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which has an agreement with the governments of several countries, including Cuba, to face emergencies and critical shortage.

Eighty four percent of the professionals who come from Cuba have over 16 years of experience, 30% are post-graduates, many worked in countries where Portuguese is spoken mainly in Africa and all are experts in family health.

Still, leaders of medical institutions in Brazil have been making statements condemning the initiative. Representatives of the Federal Council of Medicine and the Brazilian Medical Association criticize the agreement signed with PAHO and say that the program is just an electoral trick.

One of these leaders even claimed that the contract to bring Cuban doctors has all the “attributes of slave labor.” In an odd outburst, the president of the Federal Council of Medicine told that the government’s initiative “can cause a genocide”.

This goes do show that a medical degree, a successful career and access to an important post as professional leader do not ensure clarity of reasoning and intellectual honesty. Managers of the leading medical institutions in the country can quickly devolve into an irrational and prejudiced speech when corporate interests speak louder than the supposedly social function inherent to their activity.

Pride and Prejudice

But there is much more behind this discussion. In social networks and message boards each new government gesture attempting to address the shortage of doctors outside major centers, brings extreme reactions as the one by the President of the Federal Council of Medicine.

In the opinion of some of his followers, the Brazilian government is not only “promoting genocide”, but articulating an army of Cubans to take communism to the remote corners of Brazil, where citizens are supposedly more gullible and therefore more vulnerable to ideological preaching.

A transversal reading of such comments shows the level of stupidity that political radicalism can cause even among individuals whose level of formal education would presume some rationality.

By attacking the Brazilian program, these entities directly hit one of the most successful projects of the UN, which, through its health entities, provides assistance in remote places around the world, helping to reduce the damage of conflicts and natural disasters.

The press has to fulfill, at least formally, its role in hearing the various sides of an issue. This is the justification newspapers give to present their readers with outbursts above. Journalists, however, have also an obligation of offering enlightenment in cases in which the debate becomes unreasonable.

One alternative would be to show the work done by physicians engaged in such programs worldwide. But the press only sees the actions of entities such as Doctors without Borders, and seems to ignore the UN humanitarian missions.

Perhaps this vision is still a residue of prejudice against behavior that the press used to call third-world policies. On the other hand, the corporative reactions of the Brazilian doctors show that the country formed a generation of professionals who lack the most basic social awareness.

The lack of civic education does not spare those born into privilege or those who are successful. They certainly are proud of their careers, and the debates brought about by medical organizations on social networks show how one can go from pride to prejudice in a few characters.

The center is a joint project involving the City of Macaé, Berkeley Training center and a consortium of UK companies led by Lancashire Ambulance service.

The training unit will be located at Macaé’s brand new state of the art city hospital with its emergency and telemedicine center, meeting the needs of the local population and the 35,000 people working in the offshore industry.

Macaé, in Rio de Janeiro state is known as Brazil’s oil capital because of its proximity to the offshore fields that account for 80% of the country’s oil production and 45% of its natural gas.

In the inauguration speech Macaé mayor Riverton Mussi said the city population has grown three fold since Brazilian government owned oil giant Petrobras located its operational headquarters there.

"The city has been transformed, accommodating workers from all over the country and the world. Currently 10% of Macaé’s inhabitants are foreigners", stressed Mussi.

"This is an excellent example of how British expertise can help Brazil and other emerging economies develop their sectors. I am delighted that Lancashire Ambulance Service, who have honed their training skills over a number of years, will be passing them on to the other side of the world to help save lives," said Minister Ian Pearson.

The UK companies involved in the project are: Lancashire Ambulance Service, which will provide training and accreditation to local health professionals and health & safety personnel offshore; HW Communication, an advanced technology developer specializing in transferring advanced technical concepts and technologies from research laboratory to the marketplace.

HW works closely with Lancashire Ambulance Service and is responsible for developing the technical aspects of their RADEEM Telemedicine Systems; PPS (Professional Protection Systems) design, manufacture and market a comprehensive range of Personal Protective Equipment and Protective Industrial Clothing for every type of hazardous environment.

"Lancashire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has been working in Brazil since 2001, but this is the most comprehensive and exciting project we have managed to date. We are looking forward to implementing the medical protocols and systems that many countries have recognized as essential for providing high quality medical services for international oil & gas industry clients", pointed out Alan Bolam Director of Commercial Services at the Lancashire Ambulance Service.

The training center opening should aid and speed up care for thousands of workers on the almost 500 oil-drilling platforms in the Campos basin, off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state with an average production of 1.3 million bpd.

"I am confident that British talent and expertise in a wide variety of sectors is second to none but we must maximize the benefits of this. UK companies must fully open their eyes to the current growth and future growth of nations like Brazil, India and South Africa. With all the news headlines about China it would be an easy mistake to not see the potential of many other nations," added Mr. Pearson.

Until next February 3, Berkeley and Lancashire Ambulance Service will run two courses aimed at the oil and gas industry at the new facilities: Trauma and Multiple-Victim Accidents with courses given by Professor Nelson Norman, Professor of Medicine, Aberdeen University and Professor Graham Page, A/E Consultant Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The two UK guests are among the world’s top experts in Emergency and Telemedicine. Prof. Norman is an authority on Oil & Gas Remote Medicine and Extreme Temperature Medicine.

He was responsible for developing medical training and qualifications for Antarctica expeditions as well as Middle East desert environments.

Prof. Page led on the medical response for the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea and has held many high-ranking medical positions in the UK, including Diving Medicine.

Mercopress – www.mercopress.com

Brazilian company Hospimetal, a maker of hospital equipment, made a series of contacts during Saudi Healthcare. These contacts may serve as a gateway into the Saudi Market. The event began on May 29 and ended this Thursday, June 2, in Jeddah.

Hospimetal, which is based in the city of Araçatuba, in the southeastern Brazilian state of São Paulo, was the only company from Brazil to participate in the fair. The producer took a top of the line automatic hospital bed to show.

The bed has four motors and digital controls. “Hospimetal made many contacts with Saudi businessmen. This fair is more turned to the population of Saudi Arabia itself,” stated Fadley Fattah, a foreign trade analyst at the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (CCAB), who participated in the fair.

The Brazilian company does not yet export to the Arab market. According to the director of Hospimetal, Wiliam Donisete de Paula, the region has a good market with great potential. Around 20% of the company production is turned to the foreign market.

Apart from Hospimetal, the Brazilian stand, which had an area of 96 square meters, also included representatives from the Association of the Manufacturers of Medical and Dental Products (Abimo), who went on a trade mission to Riyadh and Jeddah before the fair.

In total, 100 contacts were made with Saudi businessmen who, according to Maurí­cio Manfré, the International Marketing manager of Abimo, expect great business possibilities in future.

According to Fattah, apart from businessmen, students and doctors also visited the fair each day so as to see the novelties.

According to him, around 100 companies from 15 countries participated in the 13th edition of Saudi Healthcare, which takes place every two years in Saudi Arabia.

Anba – www.anba.com.br