The doctors, who were supposed to return to their country almost two months ago, are also demanding payment of overdue stipends.
14ymedio, Havana, September 20, 2026 – A group of newly graduated Ghanaian doctors reported that they have been stranded on the Island for almost two months. According to the president of the doctors’ association, Raphael Oteng Boakye, the professionals, whose number he did not specify, are part of the nearly 2,000 who graduated last July. Among them are Cubans, Colombians, Palestinians, and Jamaicans. The young man called for the intervention of Ghana President John Dramani Mahama to “order their return home.”
According to what Oteng Boakye told the newspaper Citi News Digest, the delay could affect the protocols for “obtaining a medical license” in his country. According to the doctor, they must complete “six months of clinical practice before taking the medical licensing examination,” which is scheduled for next March.
The doctors were scheduled to travel on August 28, but the date was changed to September 3, 4, and then to September 7, September 9, and September 15 and 17. “We have not received any concrete information about a definitive schedule for our departure,” he said.
“They tell us stories over and over again. So right now we don’t even know what to believe,” says one of the graduates
The doctor said he had been deceived by representatives of the Ghana Scholarship Authority and the Ghanaian diplomatic mission in Cuba. “They tell us stories over and over again. So right now we don’t even know what to believe.”
Oteng Boakye also said that they have gone six months without receiving their stipends. Although they were informed that the money for four months had been deposited, they have received nothing. “We have not received what corresponds to these months, and very little or nothing is being done to ensure that we receive it here before we leave,” he said.
The doctors have also not received the annual $360 allowance for books during the past five years. In addition, some of the graduates’ health insurance has expired.
“We are suffering a great deal of psychological stress and would greatly appreciate being taken out of this country as soon as possible,” Oteng Boakye said.
During the last week of July, this group took part in the graduation ceremony held at the Karl Marx Theater. The rector of the University of Medical Sciences of Havana, Yoandra Muro Valle, highlighted representatives from 73 countries: Colombia, Ghana, Palestine, and Jamaica, as well as 389 from the Latin American School of Medicine and 193 from other training programs.
“Make way for your future, fight every day, every second of your life; that is the best message of love and confidence.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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