Could Kenyan officials face US ban over ‘corrupt’ Cuban doctors deal?

The United States has announced visa restrictions targeting African, Cuban and Grenadian government officials — and their family members — over alleged complicity in Cuba’s overseas medical missions.

Washington has characterised the medical program as a forced-labour “scheme” that enriches Havana while short-changing Cuban health workers and depriving Cubans of care at home.

In a statement published by the U.S. Department of State, Washington said it is imposing the measures to “promote accountability for those who perpetuate exploitation” of Cuban medical personnel.

The statement accuses the Cuban government of “renting” doctors to foreign governments at high prices and retaining most of the proceeds, while subjecting clinicians to restrictive conditions.

“The United States continues to engage governments, and will take action as needed, to bring an end to such forced labour,” the statement said, urging countries that contract Cuban medics to “pay the doctors directly for their services, not the regime slave masters.”

“We call on all nations that support democracy and human rights to join us in this effort to confront the Cuban regime’s abuses and stand with the Cuban people,” the statement added.

While the announcement did not publicly list the specific African countries or officials affected, Kenyan officials are potential targets of the new policy should Washington determine they were complicit in the arrangements it considers exploitative.

Under U.S. immigration law, visa restrictions can bar designated individuals — and, in some cases, their immediate family members — from travelling to the United States.

Kenya engaged Cuban health professionals to supplement staffing in underserved rural counties under a bilateral agreement initiated in 2018 and ended in 2023.

In 2017, the Kenyan and Cuban governments reached an agreement under which 100 Cuban specialist doctors were hired to work in Kenyan hospitals.

Kenyan doctors, on the other hand, were to train in Cuba.

In 2018, the first group of Cuban doctors arrived in Nairobi from Havana, consisting of 53 family doctors and 47 specialists.

The deal between the two countries resulted in 120 Cuban doctors working in the country as of July 2020; with the lot being deployed to different counties, among them Mandera, Wajir, Isiolo, Lamu and Vihiga.

Their mission was to assist in the fields of nephrology, radiology, orthopedics, surgery, and neurology.

In October 2023, the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) expressed support for the government’s decision to terminate the contracts of Cuban doctors.

KMPDU, through Secretary General Dr. Davji Atellah, noted that the funds the government was spending on employing the few foreign medics could have been enough to put hundreds of their Kenyan counterparts in employment.