A medical mission called “Juntos por la Salud” (Together for Health) has been launched in Panama as a result of cooperation between the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and Panama’s Ministry of Health. The initiative, which began after a request from the Ministry of Health, aims to strengthen healthcare access for Panamanians through joint efforts.
U.S. Ambassador to Panama Kevin Marino Cabrera and Panama’s Minister of Health Fernando Boyd Galindo welcomed the SOUTHCOM medical team at San Miguel Arcángel Hospital in San Miguelito. The deployment was organized under SOUTHCOM’s Humanitarian Assistance Program and is planned to continue through 2026. Medical missions will be carried out at 27 locations throughout Panama, including all ten provinces and the Ngabe-Buglé comarca, an indigenous self-governing area.
The program expects to serve more than 10,000 patients across the country by deploying specialized medical teams for periods of two to three weeks at each site. Services offered will include dental care, cardiology, and other specialties.
“Under President Trump’s America First Global Health Strategy, we are thrilled to launch the medical mission ‘Juntos por la Salud’ (Together for Health), marking a bold expansion of SOUTHCOM’s direct partnership with Panama’s Ministry of Health. Rather than routing assistance through bloated bureaucratic NGOs, we are working hand-in-hand with Panamanian doctors and officials to deliver care straight to the communities that need it most—investing U.S. healthcare expertise that empowers Panama to deliver care independently in the years ahead. This initiative will bring specialized support to over 10,000 patients across every province and the Ngabe-Buglé comarca, strengthening systems where they’re needed most and exemplifying the mutual benefits of our expanded security cooperation and partnership,” stated U.S. Ambassador Kevin Marino Cabrera.
The increased support started on November 17 with a trauma team that is now assisting at Nicolás Solano Hospital in La Chorrera. Over the next ten months, this team will rotate among public hospitals in Panama, providing three months of trauma care at each location.
The current medical group includes an endoscopy unit with a gastroenterologist, anesthesiologist, and two health care specialists working at San Miguel Arcángel Hospital. An inpatient care team—comprising a cardiologist, family medicine doctor, audiologist, and midwife—is assigned to Nicolás Solano Hospital.