Lasting Solutions

Doctors of the World – USA (DOW) focuses our efforts on long-term, lasting solutions, implementing public health projects in concert with local partners and communities.

A multifaceted approach to complex problems.  DOW takes a multifaceted approach that equips local actors to address community needs from a variety of angles.  Peer health educators are trained to spread information about illness detection and prevention, which raises community awareness and reduces stigmatization.  Technical training enables health providers to diagnose, treat and prevent illness.  DOW develops tools and systems that facilitate and organize programs in a sustainable and replicable manner.  By approaching issues from all angles, the solutions that we develop with our partners are complex and durable. 

Replicable models for care.  DOW works to ensure that local government and organizations can not only sustain our projects but also expand and replicate them.  Utilizing the tools, systems, and protocol that DOW develops, local organizations are capable of taking over project administration after DOW’s participation has ended.  Government ministries are thus equipped with blueprints for the successful expansion and replication of projects at a regional or national level. 

Empowering communities to advocate for long-term protection.  DOW’s work is only sustainable when our projects move from an individual or community level to a system and policy level.  DOW advocates for policy change that will promote human rights and implement public health programs.  But as our presence in a region is finite, we actively train community members and health providers in methods to communicate their needs and enact changes that protect their health and human rights for years to come.