Ghanaian medical graduates stranded in Cuba have appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to intervene and facilitate their immediate return home, saying repeated delays are putting pressure on them and could affect their medical licensing plans.
Raphael Oteng Boakye, president of the recently graduated Ghanaian doctors in Cuba, said the group completed their studies on 22 July but remains in Cuba nearly two months later after several postponements of their departure.
“Our immediate demand is that the President steps in and commands or demands that we be brought home as soon as possible because we know it’s possible,” he said on Citi News Digest on Saturday, 19 September 2026.
He said the graduates had initially been scheduled to leave on 28 August, but subsequent departure dates of 3 or 4 September, 7 September, 9 September and 15 or 17 September were also postponed.
“As of yet, we are yet to hear anything fruitful about a definite timeline for when we’ll be leaving this country for our motherland,” he said.
Mr Oteng Boakye said the delay could disrupt the graduates’ integration into Ghana’s health system, as they are required to complete a six‑month clinical attachment before sitting the medical licensing examination.
“We are eager to return home as soon as possible to undergo our attachments and eventually sit for our licensure exam,” he said.
He said the graduates were also facing financial difficulties, with six months of stipends outstanding. According to him, they had been informed that funding for four of those months had been provided, but the money had still not been paid.
“We still have not received these four months’ stipends, and very little to nothing is being done to ensure that we receive them here before we leave,” he said.
He also alleged that a $360 annual book allowance had not been paid to the students for five years.
Mr Oteng Boakye said some graduates were also facing difficulties accessing healthcare after their health insurance expired.
He said the uncertainty had been compounded by the expiry of their student identification cards on 31 August, as well as power and water challenges at their residences.
The graduates have held engagements with officials of the Ghana Scholarship Authority and Ghana’s diplomatic mission in Cuba, but Mr Oteng Boakye said the assurances received had not produced a confirmed departure date.
“We are always being told stories time and time again. So right now we don’t even know what to believe again,” he said.
The graduates are asking the government to facilitate their return, settle outstanding stipends and allowances, and cover the cost of their first medical licensing examination attempt.
“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,” Mr Oteng Boakye said.
