Starting April 13, the South American nation of Suriname and the United States will kick off the long-planned LAMAT 2026 initiative, a combined public-practice exercise that merges joint medical outreach and military capacity building, scheduled to run through April 23. The mission, which will deliver care across two host communities Nieuw Nickerie and Brownsweg, brings together U.S. military medical personnel and local Surinamese healthcare providers to deliver free, accessible care to underserved local populations, with an estimated 800 patients expected to receive treatment over the course of the initiative.
The scope of medical work will cover core public health and clinical areas, including primary care, general dentistry, and emergency medical response. Beyond direct patient care, a core pillar of the mission is structured knowledge sharing between the two teams, designed to strengthen long-term local healthcare capacity and improve regional readiness for public health emergencies.
According to a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Suriname, the LAMAT 2026 mission underscores the decades of steady collaborative ties between the two countries, and reflects their shared commitment to building a more robust, resilient national healthcare system in Suriname.
Running parallel to the medical outreach program is a separate joint military training exercise conducted alongside the South Dakota National Guard, which has maintained a formal partnership with Suriname since 2006. Roughly 70 military personnel from both sides will participate in tactical and skills-based training, with coursework focused on critical skills including jungle operations, field navigation, and coordinated response in high-challenge operating environments.
Overall, the combined mission is backed by more than $600,000 in U.S. funding, highlighting the breadth of deepening cooperation between Suriname and the United States across three core domains: public healthcare advancement, regional security, and long-term institutional capacity building.