A group of Ghanaian doctors who completed their studies in Cuba on July 22, 2026 has been stranded on the island for almost two months unable to return to their country, following a series of delays that seem never-ending.
Raphael Oteng Boakye, president of the Ghanaian graduates group in Cuba, reported the situation on Saturday during the Citi News Digest program and demanded the direct intervention of President John Dramani Mahama to ensure their immediate repatriation.
"Our immediate demand is that the president intervenes and orders that we be brought home as soon as possible, because we know it is possible," stated Oteng Boakye.
The originally scheduled return date was August 28, but it was successively postponed to September 3 and 4, then to the 7th, the 9th, and finally to the 15th and 17th of the same month, with none of these dates being realized.
"Until now, we have not heard anything concrete about a definitive date to leave this country for our homeland," said the group's spokesperson.
The delay has direct consequences on the professional future of graduates: before they can sit for the medical licensing exam in Ghana, they must complete six months of supervised clinical practice, a requirement they cannot begin while remaining in Cuba.
“We are eager to return home as soon as possible to complete our internships and eventually take the licensing exam,” said Oteng Boakye.
Adding to the uncertainty of the return are serious economic and administrative problems that have accumulated over several months.
Graduates report six months of unpaid stipends. Although they were informed that funds for four of those months had already been released, the money has not arrived: "We still haven't received those four months of stipends, and very little or nothing is being done to ensure we receive them before we leave."
It is also worth noting that an annual allocation of 360 dollars for books has not been paid for five consecutive years.
Living conditions have also deteriorated: their student ID cards expired on August 31, their health insurance has lapsed, and they report power and water outages in their residences, issues that reflect the service crisis currently facing Cuba.
The group has held meetings with the Ghana Scholarship Authority and with the Ghanaian diplomatic mission in Havana, but has not achieved any concrete commitments.
"They always tell us stories over and over again. Right now, we don't know what to believe," lamented Oteng Boakye.
This situation is not new. In September 2025, the National Union of Ghanaian Students in Cuba had already reported that its members had gone 17 months without receiving stipends and five years without receiving book allowances, and they described extremely precarious living conditions, surviving on bread and water and walking kilometers to get to classes.
The Ghana-Cuba scholarship program, primarily funded by the GNPC Foundation and the Ghana Scholarship Authority, was established to reduce the deficit of doctors in rural areas of the country. In 2024, the GNPC Foundation reported that 151 doctors trained in Cuba had successfully returned to Ghana.
The stranded graduates are asking the government for three things: to facilitate their immediate return, to settle all pending stipends and allowances, and to cover the cost of their first attempt at the medical licensing exam.
"We are going through immense psychological stress, and we would greatly appreciate it if we could be taken out of this country as soon as possible," concluded Oteng Boakye.
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