Durban - Women in the group of 96 medical students who were sent to Cuba on Thursday would not be given the controversial contraceptive implant to prevent pregnancy.
KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo said the health department had not prescribed contraceptives for those who were awarded bursaries.
“But we are warning them to delay getting pregnant because they have to focus on their studies,” he said.
The MEC came under fire in August when female students, who went to India to study pharmacy and ultrasonography at the government’s expense, were told they had to have a contraceptive implant.
The idea to enforce contraception came after several students, on government bursaries, fell pregnant while studying in Cuba.
Dhlomo said the policy that prevented pregnant students from returning to Cuba after giving birth was to be revised to accommodate them, as many were interested in resuming their medical studies.
“There are two students who will go back next year to finish off after they came back to give birth. We are just glad they will not lose out completely but only have to catch up a year,” he said.
There were students who had dropped out of the programme for “things that are trivial and should have been avoided”, he said.
“Two students, who were almost in fifth year, dropped out for stealing a bank card from another student. Some have not dropped out completely but contracted TB and were being treated at home, but would return when they were well.”
Others dropped out because they felt they could not continue as it was never their wish to study medicine but, rather, their parents’ dream.
The group that left this week is the third largest since the start of the programme.
“We have 798 students now who are in Cuba, from KZN alone,” he said.
About 45 doctors who trained in Cuba are back and practising.
“They give support in the smallest hospitals and clinics where we need them most. Their training in Cuba prepared them to focus on preventing diseases rather than curing diseases,” said Dhlomo.
Isiphile Maphumulo, 17, from Ozwathini, wept on Thursday when her family said goodbye.
“I’m happy but also nervous. I am not sure if I will be able to adapt to the Cuban environment and if my parents will be alive when I come back so they can be proud of me,” she said.
Maphumulo said she came from a big family that was not well-off. “All I want to do when I come back from Cuba is to become one of the best doctors in the country,” she said.
The Mercury