Havana/A group of recently 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 almost two thousand. Among them there are Cubans, Colombians, Palestinians and Jamaicans who finished their studies last July. The young man requested the intervention of President John Dramani Mahama to “order his return home.”
According to Oteng Boakye told to the newspaper Citi News Digestthe delay could affect the protocols for “obtaining medical licensure” in your country. According to the professional, they must complete “a six-month clinical internship before taking the medical licensing exam” which is next March.
The doctors had planned to travel on August 28, but they changed the date to September 3 and 4, then to September 7, September 9 and September 15 and 17. “We have not received any concrete news about a definitive timetable for our departure,” he said.
“They tell us stories over and over again. So right now we don’t even know what to believe anymore,” says one of the graduates
The doctor said he was 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 anymore.”
Oteng Boakye also assured that they have not been paid stipends for six months. Although they were informed that four months’ worth of money was deposited, they have not received anything. “We have not received what corresponds to these months and very little or nothing is being done to ensure that we receive them here before we leave,” he assured.
Doctors have also not received the $360 annual book allowance for the past five years. Some of the graduates have also had their health insurance expired.
“We are suffering a lot of psychological stress and we would greatly appreciate it if we could be removed from this country as soon as possible,” said Oteng Boakye.
The last week of July this group was part of the graduation ceremony that took place 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, and 389 from the Latin American School of Medicine and 193 from other training projects.
“Make way for your future, fight every day, every second of your life; that is the best message of love and trust.”
