Jamaican Dominique Whitely admits that conditions were tough when she arrived in Havana, Cuba, seven years ago to study medicine. But this year, as she completed her degree, life became more challenging after the United States imposed an energy blockade on the communist-ruled island in January, resulting in regular electricity blackouts, shortages, a breakdown in essential services, and higher food prices.

“In 2019 Cuba was a bit different from how it is now. They had two currencies, the CUC (Cuban convertible peso) and the CUP (Cuban peso). At the time, the CUC was equivalent to the American dollar,” she said.

The CUC, which had 25 times the value of the CUP, was used primarily for tourism, luxury goods, imported items, and basic necessities that are otherwise in short supply. However, the Cuban Government officially phased out the currency starting on January 1, 2021.

The CUP is the everyday local currency used for State salaries, utility bills, and basic local goods.

“We found that things were much cheaper back then, compared to now,” Whitely, a beneficiary of the Jamaica-Cuba Bilateral Scholarship Programme, said of her early years in the Spanish-speaking island.

“I feel like over the years the country has opened up more, because there were different shops that accepted US dollars. And so you found that more things started to come into the country. Back then, it was hard to find even just the basic necessities — sugar, salt, toothpaste, toilet paper. As time progressed, those things became more readily available, but the price for them went up, and so that was an issue,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

She said that after the CUC was phased out, prices started to increase.

“Everything, including the basic necessities, went up. We moved from no availability to availability, but we also moved from cheap to expensive,” Whitely said.

She shared that the economic conditions led to an increase in theft in some places, which combined with other factors to make studying hard.

“We did our finals, our State exams, in July. Eight days before my final exam I was robbed of my laptop with all of my resources on it. We usually don’t find that amount of robberies or any crime really happening in Cuba. You can see that the people are a bit more desperate now because it’s hard, to be honest, with all of the blackouts, the lack of resources,” Whitely said.

“Everything is more expensive. The last couple of months were particularly challenging. It was difficult to study with all of the blackouts. We had them before, but now it’s a lot worse. They’re getting more desperate, as I said, because everything is expensive. The prices are going up and transportation got increasingly difficult,” she added.

Despite the challenges, Whitely kept her focus and completed her studies.

“I am a proud graduate under the Jamaican Cuban Bilateral Scholarship Programme which I successfully completed…on July 20, 2026, to be exact, receiving [a] doctor of medicine [degree] with first class honours,” said Whitely, who shared that she is now eager to serve in the local public health system to which she is bonded for the next five years.

“Once you graduate…you go straight into observership. We have a four-month observership programme from September to December where we’re shadowing the doctors just to get accustomed to the Jamaican health-care system because…it’s going to be a bit different from Cuba,” she explained.

“Then we have a one-year internship after that. During internship and observership we will go through the core rotations of paediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, and surgery,” Whitely said.

“It feels amazing to be back home, to be honest. It’s seven whole years, and I have come back now as a doctor. Having completed the goal is really, really a great feeling. I’m excited. I’m anxious. I just want to get into it. I’m really looking forward to it because it’s like the next stage. I’m really developing my clinical skills here. I’m growing into the kind of doctor I want to be. So I’m really excited,” she added.

“I keep thinking about the language. I’m so used to asking people how they are in Spanish. I’m ready to get back into my English,” Whitely said.

“Cuba really has given me a different perspective on just health care overall, especially because they stress on the importance of prevention; and they are so meticulous. It has really, really given me a lot to look forward to. It’s really coming back with more than a medical degree,” she said, adding that her experience makes her feel as if she is 10 doctors in one.

“The journey has been surreal, overwhelming, fantastic. Every single word I can think of to describe it just really sums up to an amazing journey overall,” said Whitely.