South African students in Cuba unable to buy food

Students studying medicine in Cuba as part of the Nelson Mandela-Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration Programme find themselves at the heart of the repercussions of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, as the country contends with heightened shortages of basic goods, exacerbated largely by the United States trade sanctions against Cuba, writes Vuyo Mkize for City Press.

The country has not been spared the brunt of COVID-19, recording 1,840 confirmed cases, 1,425 recoveries and 79 deaths. While it appears that Cuba has had success in containing the transmission of the virus and controlling the outbreak – having closed its borders, public transport, schools and the tourism industry – the availability of basic and essential goods such as pads, toilet paper and other toiletries has taken the hardest hit.

There are over 1,200 South African students studying in Cuba as part of the programme. The dire situation they find themselves in prompted their student representative president, Lethabo Mokoma, to write an impassioned plea for aid to the South African embassy in Cuba. “It has become especially difficult during this pandemic and it has affected us greatly. Basic items are rarely available. We raised our concerns at the embassy and we sent a letter appealing to our government to supply us with these goods,” Mokoma told City Press.
Full report on the News24 site