The United States has come out to flag the Cuban medical programs in foreign countries, including Kenya, describing it as exploitative and a form of human trafficking.
U.S. Department of State Secretary Marco Rubio, on Wednesday, February 25, dismissed the Cuban medical program with other nations, including Kenya, terming it wrong and a form of human trafficking.
According to Rubio, the doctors were working without proper pay, and their freedom of movement was also restricted, describing the arrangement as a form of labour exploitation and questioning governments that participate in the program.
“The other thing with the Cuban medical program is the fact that these people are working when they are barely being paid, their freedom of movement is tightly restricted, and we want this country to understand that is what they are participating in,” Rubio stated.
Doctors from Cuba pose for a photo after they arrive at the Malpensa airport in Milan, Italy, on March 22, 2020.
Photo
Human Rights Watch
“They are paying this money to the regime, which collects the funds they get paid for these medical missions, but none of this money goes to these doctors. We think it is a version of human trafficking, and labour trafficking, and it is wrong,” he added.
His comments followed an incident where the Cuban military allegedly fired on a U.S. boat, killing at least four people and injuring six others on Wednesday, February 25, on the northern coast of Cuba.
Rubio’s statements put a focus on the health sector in Kenya since the Ministry of Health recently signed a cooperation with the Cuban government in efforts to boost universal health coverage (UHC) in June 2025.
In the cooperation agreement, Cuba was to leverage its community-based primary healthcare to strengthen Kenya’s community healthcare programme, with Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale seeking a deeper collaboration spanning digital health, telemedicine, technical changes and Cuban support in biotechnology to boost local vaccine production.
The two countries proposed a memorandum of understanding that would provide a structured framework covering service delivery, academic and technical service delivery, technical exchange and pharmaceuticals manufacturing, ensuring mutual benefit and measurable outcomes.
Cuba has for years supported Kenya’s health system, including deploying 84 Cuban doctors, training 48 Kenyan doctors and also implementing joint training programmes, a cooperation that the trump administration now faults.
The statements from the United States come days after U.S. courts suspended a Ksh 200 billion health deal with Kenya, following the Kenyan court’s earlier block on its implementation.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye specifically suspended the deal due to a component of the pact relating to the transfer of health and personal data, which had triggered uproar among Kenyans.
“A conservatory order is hereby issued suspending, staying, and restraining the respondents, whether by themselves, their agents, or assigns, from implementing or giving effect to the Health Cooperation Framework executed between the Government of Kenya and the Government of the United States of America,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.
The deal was expected to enhance the digitisation of healthcare infrastructure, enhancing the country’s emergency preparedness, while also boosting the healthcare workforce and supply chain systems.
President William Ruto posing for a photo with U.S. President Donald Trump
