Cuban-trained Ghanaian doctors plead with Mahama: bring us home now

A group of Ghanaian medical graduates trained in Cuba is escalating its appeal to President John Dramani Mahama, demanding urgent government intervention to facilitate their return home after nearly two months of limbo, repeated broken promises, and mounting financial pressure.

The graduates, who completed their medical studies on 22 July, have endured six postponed departure dates—originally scheduled for 28 August, then September 3-4, 7, 9, and 15-17—with no confirmed timeline in sight. Raphael Oteng Boakye, president of the group, told Citi News Digest on 19 September that the uncertainty is compounding both personal and professional difficulties.

The bottleneck threatening Ghana's health system

Beyond the immediate personal stress, the prolonged delay threatens Ghana's healthcare capacity. The graduates are required to complete a mandatory six-month clinical attachment in Ghana before sitting the medical licensing examination—a gatekeeping step before they can legally practise. Each month of delay in Cuba pushes back their entry into Ghana's already stretched health system, where physician shortages remain acute in many regions.

Oteng Boakye emphasised that his cohort is ready and willing to serve: "We are eager to return home as soon as possible to undergo our attachments and eventually sit for our licensure exam." However, the government's failure to arrange transport has left them in a holding pattern that risks derailing their entire professional trajectory.

Financial collapse and broken commitments

The stranded graduates are also confronting serious financial hardship. According to Oteng Boakye, six months of stipends are outstanding, with officials claiming four months' worth of funding has been allocated but never disbursed. Additionally, a $360 annual book allowance has not been paid for five years. Some graduates have exhausted savings, while others now lack health insurance after their student coverage expired.

Living conditions have deteriorated further. Student identification cards expired on 31 August, complicating access to university facilities, and residents report ongoing problems with electricity and water supply. These aren't minor inconveniences—they reflect a near-total abandonment by the Ghana Scholarship Authority and Ghana's diplomatic mission in Cuba, both of whom have been engaged but have failed to deliver results.

Why it matters for Ghana

This crisis reveals serious gaps in Ghana's government coordination and student welfare systems. The country invested in training these doctors abroad, yet cannot execute the simple logistical task of bringing them home. Beyond the human cost, delays translate directly into delayed healthcare delivery—these graduates represent a batch of qualified physicians Ghana urgently needs.

The situation also damages Ghana's reputation among students studying abroad and strains diplomatic ties with Cuba, a long-standing partner in Ghana's medical training programmes. For the broader scholarship scheme, it signals that government commitments to students are unreliable, potentially discouraging future candidates and embarrassing Ghana regionally.

The graduates are asking for three things: immediate facilitated return to Ghana, settlement of all outstanding stipends and allowances, and government support for their first medical licensing examination attempt. These are reasonable demands backed by contractual obligations the state made when enrolling them in Cuba's medical programmes.

Oteng Boakye's closing statement captured the mood: "We are going through a lot of psychological stress, and we would really appreciate it if we are taken out of this country as soon as possible." President Mahama's government must act—not as a favour, but as a fundamental duty to its own citizens.