Guyana’s Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony, has stated that it was the Government of Cuba, and not Guyana, that withdrew the Cuban Medical Brigade from Guyana.

In an interview with News Source this morning, Dr. Anthony explained that the Government was in talks with the Cuban Authorities, when the decision was taken by Cuba to withdraw the Medical Brigade.

“We have been engaging the Cuban authorities and they chose to terminate or withdraw the Cuban doctors who were here. So, that’s the first thing I want to make clear,” Minister Anthony said.

According to the Health Minister, the decision was taken in February, 2026 bringing an end to a more than 48-year-long arrangement between the two countries.

The Health Minister said in light of the decision taken by Havana, Guyana then opted to hire Cuban medical personnel directly.

“Cuban doctors, nurses and technicians, if they want to come to Guyana, they can come to Guyana and once they are properly qualified and certified by our medical authorities here, medical council, nursing council, and so forth, once they meet those requirements then we will be able to offer them a job. And quite a number of persons have come, and so, we have offered them that job. So, they are working in the public system. So, we don’t have a problem once they are qualified,” Minister Anthony explained.

The Health Minister was unable to disclose the number of Cuban medical personnel hired directly by the Government since the arrangement fell through.

“I don’t have the number but quite a number of persons, and some persons who were on the brigade also decided to stay back, so, they are working with the Government of Guyana,” he said.

He said the decision to withdraw the Cuban Medical Brigade from Guyana has had no impact on the country, explaining that even as the country continues to hire the medical personnel directly, the Ministry of Health has been ramping up its training programmes for Guyanese nurses and other medical practitioners.

“As you know we have been expanding our Healthcare System and we have also started to expand training, so, a lot of people who were on the brigade were nurses, and through our training programme we are compensating for those that would have been withdrawn. And this year for example, because three years ago we have started a registered nursing programme, and by June of this year we will be graduating close to 800 persons, and they would come into service soon they have graduated successfully,” the Health Minister said.

Minister Anthony’s clarification on the issue comes just days after a small group of concerned citizens wrote President Irfaan Ali calling for the immediate reversal of the decision to terminate the services provided by the Cuban Medical Brigade and to have them return to Guyana immediately.

 It was suspected that the Guyana Government was behind the move to have the services of the Medical Brigade terminated under pressure from the US Government, which has been highlighting the issue.

Guyana has shared close relations with Cuba for decades. In 2021, more than 60 Cuban doctors came to Guyana to assist with the management of COVID-19 cases during the height of the deadly pandemic.

Cuba has also been involved in the training of Guyanese Doctors.

In 2025, the US had threatened to revoke or restrict visas from some African, Caribbean and Brazilian officials who Washington contended had ties to the Cuban Medical Programme, which allows for Cuban Medical Personnel to work in foreign jurisdictions. The US has expressed concern over perceived labour violations by the Cuban authorities.

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