First group of Cuban doctors arrive in Havana from Brazil

(23 Nov 2018) Cuban doctors who'd been working in Brazil began returning to their homeland on Friday after a diplomatic spat ended their assignments there. More than 8,000 Cuban medics were in Brazil on a contract arranged by the World Health Programme, with their salaries paid by Brazil direct to the Cuban government. The doctors themselves generally received only a fraction of the salaries. But then Brazil's incoming conservative president Jair Bolsonaro demanded his country be allowed to pay the doctors direct - and called for their families to be allowed to join them. The Cuban authorities responded by terminating the programme and ordering the doctors home. The first contingent of 400 medics arrived in Havana early Friday and were welcomed at the airport by President Miguel Diaz Canel, who lauded their service while criticising the circumstances that led to their return. He said they'd been taking part in a programme of "revolutionary humanism" that money couldn't buy, adding that "neo-liberals" such as Brazil's incoming president wouldn't understand the concept. One of the doctors, 37 year old Yari Montero from Guantanamo province, said she was now worried that the patients she'd been looking after wouldn't get the care they need. Cuba, which has one of the best admired healthcare systems in the world, stands to lose millions of dollars in revenue as a result of ending the programme. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/102011028589719587178/+APArchive​ Tumblr: https://aparchives.tumblr.com/​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/f8637048194c455b25d06aafa11a7657