Guatemala · May 2026
2027 Public Health Brigade
Interested in global health, community outreach, or getting hands-on experience working with communities abroad? Come join Queen's Public Health Brigades on our 2027 Public Health Brigade to Panama with Global Brigades.
Quick Facts about Panama
4.5M
Population
Population
Panama has about 4.5 million people. 17.2% identify as Indigenous (2023 census), and about two in three of them live in comarcas (Indigenous territories) or other rural areas.
77%
Ages 15–64
Age
77% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64.
Healthcare Gap
Healthcare
There are significant healthcare disparities between urban and rural Panama. The Ngäbe-Buglé comarca has about 3.3 health professionals per 10,000 people, compared with 33.3 nationally.
Landscape
Landscape
Panama is known for the Panama Canal (about 80 km long, open since 1914), its Caribbean coastlines, and vibrant Indigenous cultures, with seven Indigenous peoples across the country.
Projects we might work on
Trip dates
May 2 to May 8, 2027
A little about the trip
Panama has made major progress in expanding access to healthcare, but rural and Indigenous communities, particularly in the Comarca and Darién regions, continue to face significant barriers to care due to geography, infrastructure, and limited resources.
During the brigade, we will work alongside local communities through mobile medical services, Community Health Worker initiatives, and sustainable public health projects.
Photos from previous brigades
Public Health Brigades
A Global Public Health Brigade is a 7-10 day service-learning trip. University students and local professionals travel to under-resourced rural communities to build health-promoting home infrastructure and teach disease prevention.
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Public Health Brigades work in remote and rural communities in Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ghana. Many of those communities are still without basic health infrastructure, and preventable illness is common. Before any building starts, volunteers meet community leaders, including the Basic Sanitation Committee that looks after local health projects.
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Volunteers work with local masons and with the families who will use what gets built. The projects follow what that household needs: eco-stoves with a chimney in place of an open indoor fire, latrines and showers, water storage units and drinking-water filters, and sometimes concrete floors. Those changes cut smoke in the home and lower the risk of waterborne and vector-borne illness, including Chagas disease. Families take part in the build, which is how the projects stay in use after the group leaves.
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The days are split between the build and teaching. Volunteers lead workshops on hygiene, handwashing, and sanitation with community members and school-aged children. Public Health Brigades also work alongside other Global Brigades programs, including Water, Engineering, and Medical, so the week connects to community-led work that continues after everyone goes home.
Join us at Panama
If you're interested in joining us, fill out the interest form. We'll reach out with more information about the application process, fundraising, upcoming info sessions, and everything you need to know about the brigade.
Have questions? Reach out to us!
Scan for the form