Brazilian healthcare and medical education expansion

In Brazil, political candidates have proposed expansions to healthcare infrastructure and pharmaceutical production. Samanda de Lula pledged federal resources for the Seridó University Hospital in Caicó, while gubernatorial candidate João Campos proposed a R$ 100 million investment for a new plant at the Governor Miguel Arraes Pharmaceutical Laboratory (Lafepe) to produce active substances for weight-loss medications via the SUS.

Recent data from the Ministry of Education (MEC) and the Demografia Médica 2025 report highlight a massive expansion in medical education. Between 2010 and 2024, the total number of medical courses grew by 158%, rising from 181 to 467. While federal universities saw a 74.5% increase, for-profit private institutions experienced a 550% surge. This growth has led to a decentralization of training; whereas 51.2% of medical spots were concentrated in state capitals in 2004, that figure dropped to 34.8% by 2024, with municipalities under 300,000 inhabitants now accounting for 43.6% of available spots.

However, this expansion faces quality and resource challenges. The 2025 National Exam for the Evaluation of Medical Training (Enamed) indicates that 125 programs—representing 9,320 student spots—operate solely due to court orders. Only 30.8% of these judicially authorized private courses achieved a satisfactory result, significantly lower than the 95% and 97% performance rates of federal and state universities, respectively. Furthermore, the rapid growth has pressured public resources, contributing to the cancellation of a Mais Médicos program edition due to a shortage of public hospital beds for practical training.