ASTHA and Zynax Health are scaling up enhanced healthcare services for rural communities

Community Paramedics (CPs) provide primary healthcare services to the poor and underprivileged communities at the grassroots. Patients are referred by CPs to other healthcare facilities for critical and complex problems. However, they often fail to pursue further follow-up or visit the referred hospitals due to distance and the associated costs. Additionally, rural patients face technological barriers that prevent them from accessing online/telephonic doctor consultation services. This deprives patients of timely treatment and the convenience of seeking virtual doctor consultation services, potentially saving time and money.

To address these problems, ASTHA and Zaynax Health initially piloted the intervention in the Nilphamari (north) and Patuakhali (south) districts. The pilot initiative resulted in an expanded service portfolio for self-employed 51 CPs in the pilot locations, enabling 500+ rural patients to access enhanced healthcare services through CPs. Given the remarkable success of the pilot initiative, both parties signed an agreement in September 2022 to scale up the initiative in three regions: Patuakhali (south), Sunamganj (north-east), and Rangpur (north). The objective is to enhance the healthcare-seeking experience of households in these communities by engaging CPs as agents of Zaynax Health.