Defections by Cuban Doctors in Venezuela Double

Defections by Cuban Doctors in Venezuela Double / 14ymedio
Posted on November 11, 2014

14ymedio, Havana, 10 November 2014 — Some 700 Cuban health professionals
defected from Venezuela between September 2013 and September 2014,
according to data published Sunday in Caracas by the daily El Universal.
The majority went to the United States and reported the deterioration of
their work conditions.

This figure doubles the number from the same period a year earlier, when
some 300 professionals left their missions, according to information
from Solidarity Without Borders (SSF), an organization with headquarters
in Miami that helps Cuban health professionals looking for a better future.

"The worsening of conditions in Venezuela is causing an increase in
defections. The lack of safety, low pay, worker exploitation and control
over private life continue to be the big reasons," said Doctor Julio
Cesar Alfonso, president of the organization, to El Universal.

Alfonso explains that the most significant increase was registered after
the death of President Hugo Chavez. Among other reasons that impel
doctors to escape, according to the organization's president, are the
devaluation of the bolivar, an average salary of 100 dollars at the
official exchange rate and few prospects for professional development.

The phenomenon is not limited to Venezuela and, according to Solidarity
Without Borders, some 1,100 Cuban professionals abandoned their missions
abroad between September 2013 and 2014.

Translated by MLK

Source: Defections by Cuban Doctors in Venezuela Double / 14ymedio |
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