Since 2023, nearly 30 University of Pittsburgh students have been able to participate in a two-week immersive study abroad program, “Public Health Threats in Suriname: From Ecosystem to Human Health,” thanks to the generosity of Lee and Isabel “Issie” Foster, longtime fixtures in Pittsburgh business and philanthropy. Last month, the Fosters joined the latest group as they met with public health and other government officials and observed ecological and economic threats to the country on the northeast coast of South America.
One of the smallest countries in South America, Suriname is a top world producer of aluminum ore. Most of its multicultural population lives near the coast. Large tracts of tropical rain forestcover much of the rest of the country.
“I thought the program was very educational,” said Issie Foster, adding that she was impressedby how quickly the students bonded with each other and their Surinamese counterparts. “For a lot of the Pitt students, this was the first time they’d every traveled outside the U.S., let alone been to a jungle.”
As former president, CEO and chairman of transportation engineering manufacturer L.B. Foster Co., Lee B. Foster II had been “all over South America” but 2025 marked his first visit to Suriname, which gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975. The country is listed as a developing nation, with the majority of its infrastructure located in the coastal area. Population needs vary greatly from the coast to the interior.
“Public Health Threats in Suriname” features transdisciplinary science, practice and policy approaches to key public health issues affecting Suriname's ecosystem and its population, including the leading causes of illness and death. Through lectures and field trips, students learn about the role of the ecosystem as a vital component of community health. Field trips and service learning are integral components of the program, including instruction on the medicinal characteristics of plants.
The course covers risks posed by environmental contamination, specifically those related to mercury released from some small-scale gold mining operations. Students employ community-based participatory research strategies to assess, manage and communicate environmental risks.
“Being in Suriname and seeing its public health threats up close helped me learn about the application of things we study in classes and to learn more deeply about what the country is doing to protect and conserve its rich culture and biodiversity,” said Abby Lazarus, a public health major from Houston, Texas. “I’m grateful for the Issie Foster Scholarship, which allowed me to make many new connections and experience public health in a way I never would have been able to otherwise.”
Government officials and leading professors and graduates of the Anton De Kom University of Suriname Faculty of Medical Sciences serve as program instructors and have firsthand knowledge of environmental and public health issues facing the country's population. They are local experts in areas such as toxicology, pharmacology and ecosystem science. In addition, students learn about traditional healing methods from local community experts.
“There’s momentum behind this program,” said Lee Foster, noting its underlying theme that public health is global health.
“Being exposed to so many different cultures and experiences allowed me to appreciate the diversity that is public health,” said Lazarus, who plans to enroll in medical school after finishing a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
- Michele Dula Baum