A cohort of 19 Princeton undergraduate students traveled to Brazil over the winter break to enrich their global health studies. Organized by the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW) with support from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), the trip offered a compelling, firsthand view of the health challenges faced by communities in the Global South. 

The students, all minoring in global health and health policy, were led by Global Health Program (GHP) faculty and staff, along with an anthropology graduate student facilitator, as they toured health-focused sites across Brazil. The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), a world-renowned public health research institution and CHW research partner, hosted the intensive visit that included clinical and research facilities, government entities, and community organizations in various settings -- from Rio de Janeiro, the second-most populous city in Brazil, to a regional capital near the mouth of the Amazon River, to an isolated village deep in the Amazon rainforest. 

Blending Coursework and Field Work 

“Students in the Global Health Program learn a lot about the politics, economics, anthropology, and science of health in class. This experience allowed them to see and understand how those lessons play out in real-world contexts,” said Gilbert Collins, CHW executive director and director of global health programs. “They were exposed to the health hazards affecting diverse communities in a middle-income country, ranging from substance abuse to malaria, and explored critical questions, such as who is addressing those problems and how.” 

“One of the unique aspects of the Global Health Program is that it’s interdisciplinary… in its conversations, in its students, and in its faculty. I think this trip really captured that spirit,” added Heather Howard, professor of the practice and co-director of GHP. Participating students were from the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences, representing several majors and viewpoints. The experience was designed to boost their awareness of health systems and inequities while bringing health policy issues to life.

“Students had just completed GHP 350 [Critical Perspectives in Global Health Policy], where they were exposed to global health policy, and then they were on the ground, visiting clinics, meeting with researchers, and seeing Brazil’s health care system in practice,” explained Howard.

Meghana Bhupati ’26, a SPIA major, was deeply impacted by the connections. “We spent much of GHP 350 learning about social determinants of health and comparative health systems,” she said. “Going to Brazil and speaking with clinicians and policymakers helped me understand how they outreach to patients from different backgrounds in the public health system.”  

Examining Brazilian Health Care

The 11-day itinerary began at the Fiocruz headquarters in Rio, where students received an overview of the institution’s research interests and Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), the country’s universal health system. Established in 1990, SUS unifies Brazil’s health services in fulfillment of the nation’s constitutional requirement to provide health care for all. 

While in Rio, the group also visited the Center of Vaccination and Surveillance, which tracks, analyzes, and reports data about disease outbreaks, diagnoses, and other health information, as well as City Hall, where students met with representatives from the mayor’s office and saw the city’s operations center in action. Equipped with a sophisticated, around-the-clock surveillance system, the center monitors city-wide activities to ensure a coordinated response to emergencies in health and other sectors.

Additionally in Rio, students toured a vaccination clinic, an environmental health research center on the outskirts of the Atlantic coastal forest, and a residential treatment center for individuals with substance abuse disorder. 

The treatment center elucidated the overlapping problems of stable housing, substance abuse, and mental health, while also highlighting distinctions between the Brazilian and U.S. health care systems.

“Brazil views health care as a right and its citizens as people they are obligated to provide for. This ethos was evident in the homeless shelter we visited, which served as both a sanctuary and rehabilitation facility,” shared Octavia Jones ’26, who is majoring in anthropology. Jones noted how the country views the homeless as individuals who deserve respect rather than a societal burden. “The shelter provided for the homeless not only physically but also psychologically, socially, and economically, something not replicated in the U.S.,” she said.

After examining health in an urban context, the group traveled to Macapá, an isolated city located on a small plateau along the Amazon Delta. Here they shifted their focus to such issues as vector borne diseases and the concept of One Health, an integrated, collaborative approach to optimizing the health of people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. Students visited a teaching hospital, where they engaged with Brazilian undergraduate students and attended a lecture focused on malaria prevention and treatment efforts, complementing earlier explorations of the economics of malaria bed net distribution in GHP 350. They also spent time at a biopark to learn more about the ecology of the Amazon basin and immersed themselves in local culture.   

While in the Amazon Delta region, the group spent a day in Mazagão Velho, a small, secluded village in the Amazon rainforest. Founded by escaped enslaved people of African origin, the community is plagued by extreme health challenges related to lacking infrastructure and transportation, limited resources, and little access to advanced medical care. Students learned about these problems from clinicians at a primary health center and conversations with village residents, which was impactful.

Empowering Future Leaders

“This trip has clarified my perspective on global health and my future within it,” stated Maya Butani ’26, a molecular biology major. “I have always been interested in using research and innovation to combat health challenges faced in resource-poor settings. The experience allowed me to go beyond simply recognizing the medical challenges to conceptualize how those illnesses are exacerbated by external conditions.”

Bhupati and Jones were equally affected. “The trip to Brazil was a pivotal moment in my academic and professional journey,” said Bhupati. “I learned that global health is complex in that many factors, like racism and homelessness, can undermine even universal health systems.”

Jones elaborated upon that point, acknowledging how shortcomings in the Brazilian health system often lead to reliance on private health insurance, which can alleviate pressure on the public health system but also worsen health inequities.

 “Overall, the Brazil trip was a transformative experience,” she said. “It challenged me to reconsider what health care could and should look like in other parts of the world." 

Learn more about CHW’s Global Health Program at Global Health at Princeton.