A group of Ghanaian medical students stranded in Cuba has issued a desperate appeal to their government and international media, revealing they have not received their essential stipends for 16 months.
Trapped by Cuba’s economic crisis and strict immigration policies, the students describe being unable to afford food, soap, sanitary supplies, or medical care while prohibited from seeking employment.
“We are expected to study, survive, and succeed without any means to sustain ourselves,” one student shared, highlighting the irony of their plight.
With Cuba facing severe unemployment even among its own citizens the Ghanaian cohort relies on loans from foreign peers to avoid starvation, accumulating debts that force some to hide before classes to evade creditors.
The relentless financial strain has severely impacted their mental health and academic performance, undermining their dream of returning home to serve as doctors.
Despite repeated assurances from Ghanaian authorities that stipends would arrive “soon,” no funds have materialized since payments stopped in early 2024.
“We feel forgotten and abandoned,” the students wrote, emphasizing they seek only the “bare minimum to survive,” not luxury.
Their studies, funded by Ghana’s government, are now jeopardized by neglect, leaving them voiceless in a system that promised them a future.
