HELL IN HAVANA: Struggling SA medical students endure Cuba misery — US embargo blamed

Almost three decades ago, South Africa initiated the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro (NMFC) program as a transformative pathway to medical careers for promising students. The program provided state-funded opportunities to study medicine in Cuba, offering an alternative for those excluded by local university quotas. However, current participants report deteriorating conditions in the Havana-based program.

Students living in shared rooms often lack access to adequate water, sanitation, and food quality, leading to illness. At times, they share a single toilet among as many as 13 people, sometimes without running water for days. Meals consist mainly of rice paired with watery, unseasoned soup.

One anonymous student expressed her struggles upon arriving in Havana, noting the lack of water for bathing and the depressive impact of the deplorable living conditions. The shared toilets require students to fetch water in buckets to flush toilets, further exacerbating their distress.

The food served to students is described as subpar, with meat causing allergic reactions and stomach illnesses. The stipend provided to students, roughly $200 a month, is insufficient, as the conversion rate makes it difficult to afford basic necessities. Students have raised these issues repeatedly, but their concerns have gone largely unaddressed.

The Department of Health has admitted to no oversight visits since 2022, citing financial pressures and austerity measures. However, the Department of Health spokesperson Foster Mohale acknowledged the urgent need to increase the stipend and stated that the matter is currently under consideration. The Democratic Alliance's Haseena Ismail criticized the programme, pointing out deeply concerning conditions and the failure to address unemployment among graduates despite the state's investment of R606-million in their training.