Public Health
Public health is a population-centric approach to the medical needs of individuals and communities. While third-party NGOs can administer broad-based public health programs, such as vaccination and awareness campaigns, effective long-term public health planning requires democratic accountability and population-level management—which governments, not private entities, are most well-suited to deliver. Zomia assists non-state actors and community groups in taking on the responsibilities of public health delivery, especially in conflict settings or in regions where population-centric healthcare faces challenges.
Past Initiative: NESCOM Project
In partnership with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Zomia established a disease surveillance network across 150 villages in northeast Syria. The project trained community health workers to identify cases of disease, such as acute flaccid paralysis, COVID-19, and cholera. Each community health worker surveiled one to three villages in their ambit, recorded public health events of interest, and sent that information to a central clearinghouse, which was then shared with the World Health Organization and other members of the health cluster.
Zomia has previously carried out polio vaccination activities, post-campaign monitoring, and Leishmaniasis spraying campaigns.