Cuba to train 40 medical students from deprived communities

The government of Cuba has accepted to train 40 brilliant needy medical students from Zongos, inner cities and other deprived communities every year.

This follows a proposal by the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to the government of Cuba to extend the special arrangement between the two countries to the training of health personnel in deprived communities.

Vice-President Bawumia made the proposal when he held bilateral talks with the President of Cuba, Mr Miguel Diaz-Canel, as part of a two-day official visit to the Caribbean country.

According to Cuban officials, the programme would begin next year and gender parity would be ensured in the selection of the students to be trained as medical doctors, with a proposed selection of 20 males and 20 females, a statement from the Jubilee House said.

Mr Diaz-Canel noted that over the years, the government of Cuba had tried to demystify the training of doctors by making sure the study of Medicine was not the preserve of the elite, saying Cuba had 80,000 doctors as a result.

He lauded the country's efforts to offer medical training to brilliant, needy students from poor communities such as the Zongos and inner cities, and said that Cuba was ready to support Ghana in achieving its goal.
 
The training of the doctors and other professionals from poor communities will not only lift them out of poverty but also provide important role models for other children in those communities.

As part of the visit, Vice-President Bawumia also witnessed the graduation ceremony of 221 newly trained medical personnel at the University of Medical Sciences, Cuba.

A Ghanaian doctor, Ahmed Ayebeng Owusu, was adjudged the overall best foreign student.