---
title: "South Africa and Cuba"
summary: "Cuban troops fought in Angola in 1987 and 1988. Since 1996 Cuba has trained South African doctors and sent doctors and engineers."
published: 2026-10-29
reviewed: 2026-10-29
canonical: "https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/learn/south-africa-and-cuba"
license: "CC BY 4.0"
---

# South Africa and Cuba

> In 1987 and 1988, Cuban troops fought alongside Angolan forces near Cuito Cuanavale, against UNITA and the South African army [1]. Nelson Mandela called the battle a turning point for Africa's liberation [1]. Since 1996, Cuba has also trained South African doctors and, at times, sent doctors and engineers to South Africa [3].

## The war in Angola

In 1987 and 1988, a major battle took place near the town of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola. [1]

Angola's army, called FAPLA, had help from Cuba and the Soviet Union. The rebel group UNITA had help from the South African Defence Force (SADF). [1]

Cuban troops helped defend the town. An early group of 120 Cuban soldiers reached Cuito and helped organise its defences. [1]

The fighting built up over months. On 14 August 1987, fourteen Angolan and Cuban brigades began a large attack. In October 1987, the Angolan army's 47th Brigade was largely destroyed at the Lomba River. [1]

The SADF launched its last major attack on Cuito Cuanavale on 23 March 1988. [1] Keith Somerville, a visiting professor at the University of Kent, calls it the largest conventional battle in Africa since the Second World War. He says it ended with a Cuban bombing of the Calueque dam on 27 June 1988. [2]

## Who won?

South African History Online lists three views of the battle: a defeat for the SADF, a tactical withdrawal, or a stalemate. [1]

The Angolan, Cuban and ANC view is that South Africa wanted to rescue UNITA and take the town's air base. They say Angolan and Cuban forces stopped it. [1]

Nelson Mandela described the battle as "a turning point for the liberation of our continent and my people." [1] On a visit to Cuba in 1991, he called it a victory for all Africa. [2]

## What came after

Talks followed, and the countries taking part included Angola, Cuba, the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States. [2] The talks led to South African and Cuban forces leaving Angola. [1]

Namibia became independent in March 1990. [2] Mandela said the defeat of the SADF made that independence possible. [2]

Freedom Park, near Pretoria, names 2,070 Cuban soldiers who died in Angola between 1975 and 1988. [1]

## Doctors

In 1996, South Africa and Cuba signed an agreement to train South African medical students in Cuba. The first group left in 1997. [3]

Students spend one year learning Spanish and five years studying in Cuba. Then they do 18 months of clinical training at a South African medical school. Each bursary student must later work for the state for as many years as the state funded them. [3]

In 2018, about 700 fifth-year students came home and none of South Africa's 10 medical schools could take them. [3] In 2025, only Gauteng and North West interviewed candidates. [3]

Sources disagree on how many doctors the programme has produced. The health department's spokesperson said more than 4,000. [3] In November 2022, then Health Minister Joe Phaahla said that 2,617 of 3,369 recruited students had graduated. [3] In August 2026, the Cuban ambassador told a parliamentary committee that Cuba had trained 3,243 South Africans as doctors. [4]

Cuban doctors have also worked in South Africa. The ambassador said Cuba sent 463 doctors between 1996 and 1998, and 55 of them stayed. [4]

In April 2020, 217 Cuban doctors arrived to help South Africa during the Covid-19 outbreak. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said they were there to help contain the outbreak and were not filling vacancies. [5]

## Engineers

In April 2021, the Department of Water and Sanitation welcomed 24 Cuban engineers. They came to work as advisors in provinces and municipalities. [6]

The union Solidarity asked a court to stop the project. The department said it would cost R18.3 million a year, not the R64 million that had been reported. [7]

The sources we found do not say how the court case ended.

## Cooperation today

In March 2025, South Africa told the United Nations that it had recommitted to cooperation with Cuba in health, basic education, water, sanitation and public works. [8]

South Africa also wants the US [embargo](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/glossary#embargo) on Cuba to end. In August 2026, Parliament's international relations committee backed lifting it immediately and unconditionally. [4]

The committee's discussions will feed into South Africa's preparations for the 19th session of the South Africa-Cuba Joint Consultative Mechanism. The committee wants more cooperation on agriculture, renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure and skills development. [4]

In September 2026, Minister Ronald Lamola of [DIRCO](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/glossary#dirco) repeated South Africa's call for an end to the embargo at the [UN General Assembly](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/glossary#un-general-assembly). He used the word "blockade." [9]

For the yearly UN vote, see [How the UN votes on the US embargo of Cuba](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/learn/un-votes).

## Main counterarguments

- The SADF view, as South African History Online summarises it, is that the army had limited aims at Cuito Cuanavale: to stop the enemy there and then withdraw [1]. Keith Somerville, a visiting professor at the University of Kent, writes that the battle was not a military victory for any side, and that many South African veterans reject the claim of defeat [2].
- A Wits professor quoted by Daily Maverick estimated that the doctor programme costs about three times more than training a student in South Africa. The national health department recommended scaling it back about a decade ago, but Gauteng and North West kept funding it. A graduate who now works at the South African mission in Havana told the paper that the programme brings doctors to rural and township communities [3]. The union Solidarity went to court to try to stop the Cuban engineers project [7].

## Sources

1. Battle of Cuito Cuanavale 1988. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/article/battle-cuito-cuanavale-1988 (Academic)
2. It's 30 years since Cuito Cuanavale. How the battle redefined southern Africa. The Conversation Africa, 29 May 2017. https://theconversation.com/its-30-years-since-cuito-cuanavale-how-the-battle-redefined-southern-africa-78134 (Academic)
3. Three decades in, is the Cuba-SA doctor training programme still worth the expense?. Daily Maverick (Spotlight), 31 July 2025. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-31-three-decades-in-is-the-cuba-sa-doctor-training-programme-still-worth-the-expense (News)
4. Committee on IR Reiterates South Africa's Call for Lifting of US Embargo and Unilateral Measures Against Cuba. Parliament of South Africa, 12 August 2026. https://www.parliament.gov.za/press-releases/media-statement-committee-ir-reiterates-south-africas-call-lifting-us-embargo-and-unilateral-measures-against-cuba (South African government)
5. Mkhize welcomes support from Cuban doctors. SAnews (South African Government News Agency), 28 April 2020. https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/mkhize-welcomes-support-cuban-doctors (South African government)
6. Water and Sanitation welcomes Cuban water experts seconded to South Africa, 22 Apr. South African Government (gov.za), 19 April 2021. https://www.gov.za/news/media-advisories/government-activities/water-and-sanitation-welcomes-cuban-water-experts (South African government)
7. Water dept defends deployment of Cuban engineers in reply to Solidarity court application. Mail & Guardian, 28 May 2021. https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-05-28-water-dept-defends-deployment-of-cuban-engineers-in-reply-to-solidarity-court-application/ (News)
8. Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba: Report of the Secretary-General (A/80/83). United Nations General Assembly, 14 August 2025. https://documents.un.org/api/symbol/access?s=A/80/83&l=en&t=pdf (United Nations)
9. UNGA81 General Debate: South Africa's National Statement by Minister Ronald Lamola, Head of Delegation. Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), 24 September 2026. https://dirco.gov.za/unga81-general-debate-south-africas-national-statement-by-minister-ronald-lamola-head-of-delegation-on-restoring-trust-managing-transformation-a-united-nations-that-delivers-for/ (South African government)

## What you can do

- [Ask DIRCO for SA's position](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/act/write-dirco-sa-position)
- [Share SA and Cuba in 60 seconds](https://cuba.timothybrits.co.za/act/share-sa-and-cuba-in-60-seconds)