ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has agreed to contract over 100 nurses from Ghana, but insisted that it has not formally ended the programme where it recruits health professionals from Cuba to work within the country’s healthcare system.

The United States (US) has stepped up its call for Caribbean countries to end the health programme with Cuba, saying Washington “stands with those affected and continues to work for an end to the Cuban regime’s exploitative labour practices”.

A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting said the Government welcomes “the arrival of 120 nurses from the Republic of Ghana expected over the weekend of January 23, 2026, who will serve within the public healthcare system of Antigua and Barbuda”.

“Minister of Health, Sir Molwyn Joseph, announced that these nurses will be deployed primarily at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, as well as within community health clinics and schools, thereby enhancing both hospital-based and community-level healthcare delivery,” the Cabinet statement added.

Director-General of Communications, Maurice Merchant, later told reporters that the Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to the strengthening and long-term sustainability of Antigua and Barbuda’s national health system, noting the Government’s continued focus on expanding and stabilising the healthcare workforce.

He said that the expanded cadre of health professionals is expected to significantly improve service delivery and reduce pressure on existing staff within the public health system.

Merchant said that Antigua and Barbuda nurses are generally highly-trained and like nurses from other Caribbean territories, are wooed by health institutions in North America and Europe with promises of higher pay and greater benefits that the country cannot match.

While pointing to the need to recruit nurses from elsewhere to help booster the healthcare system, Merchant said the Government has also placed much emphasis on the training of additional nursing personnel, noting that scholarships were offered in the last academic year to 15 nurses to pursue master’s degrees at the West Indies Five Islands Campus (UWI FIC).

Meanwhile, Merchant insists that the Gaston Browne government has not formally ended the programme where it recruits health professionals from Cuba to work within the country’s healthcare system.

He told reporters that the Cuban health professionals have been a mainstay of the local healthcare system for many years and as with all relationships, the arrangement is currently going through a period of transition.

“There have been speculations and statements erroneously being made in the public by politicians and individuals who just simply want to ‘muddy the waters’ between the Republic of Cuba and the United States.

“It is unfortunate that this is being done. The Government values the contributions that have been made and are being made by the Cuban government with regards to our health sector and as with everything, there is a period of transition,” Merchant said.

He told reporters that the goal of the Government is for Antigua and Barbuda to be self-sufficient with regards to the provision of nurses in the country’s healthcare system and that is why the Government has focused much energy on the training of local nurses in collaboration with the University of the West Indies FIC.

Earlier this week, the United States, which has condemned the Cuban Health Brigade programme and has urged regional countries to end the relationship, noted that “the corrupt Cuban regime is profiting off the forced labour of medical personnel”.

“Renting out Cuban medical professionals at exorbitant prices and keeping the profit for regime elites is not a humanitarian gift. It is forced labour. It treats the doctors as commodities rather than human beings and professionals,” according to a statement posted on the website of the US Embassy in Barbados.

“The United States calls for an end to the Cuban regime’s coercive and exploitative labour export scheme,” the statement said, adding, “Did you know? Across the Caribbean, nations pay the Cuban government high fees to rent medical professionals—often more than they pay their own local doctors.”

“This programme is not a gift from Cuba to the people of the Caribbean; it is an overpriced arrangement funded by local taxpayers. Money is often paid directly to the corrupt Cuban regime, which takes 80-95 per cent of the doctors’ salaries. This is a modern-day forced labour scheme. It comes at a high cost to participating countries, not only financially, but also in terms of basic human dignity and morality.

“The United States stands with those affected and continues to work for an end to the Cuban regime’s exploitative labour practices,” the statement added.