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Connect with the Peace Corps
If you're ready for something bigger, we have a place where you belong.
Apply to the Peace Corps
The application process begins by selecting a service model and finding an open position.
Let us help you find the right position.
If you are flexible in where you serve for the two-year Peace Corps Volunteer program, our experts can match you with a position and country based on your experience and preferences.
Serve where you’re needed mostCommunity Health Educator
Health
Job highlights
- Make a meaningful contribution to the health and well-being of a community
- Experience the diverse cultural traditions of a country with over 70 ethnic groups
- Build lifelong connections with a host family.
Zambia • Africa
In partnership with: Health centers, community-based organizations, schools
Applications are now closed. View current openings.
Apply by
March 15, 2026Know by
June 1, 2026Depart on
October 5, 2026Duration
2 years, plus 3 months trainingAbout the project
Are you passionate about health education? Organizations and health centers in Zambia are looking for support with evidence-based interventions that promote positive health outcomes, and you can lend a hand!
Zambia’s Ministry of Health aims to end preventable maternal and child deaths and achieve an HIV/AIDS-free generation by 2030. To achieve this goal, Zambia wishes to strengthen the capacity of local healthcare workers to plan, implement, and manage health activities using evidence-based interventions.
As a Community Health Educator, you will collaborate with the staff at a rural health center to strengthen the local health education and awareness of available health services. Alongside your colleagues, you will address other community-identified priorities, such as malaria and water sanitation.
Learn more about what Volunteers do in country by visiting our Zambia project page.
Required skills
Qualified candidates will have one or more of the following criteria:
Qualified candidates will have an expressed interest in working in the health sector and one or more of the following criteria:
Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any field
A bachelor’s degree is required for all candidates for Zambian work permits.
Language: There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position.
Required behavioral competencies
These competencies are essential for all service assignments and are assessed in the application and interview process:
Motivation for and commitment to service
Adaptability and open-mindedness
Problem solving and resourcefulness
Behavioral maturity and professionalism
Photos from Zambia
How you and the community will make an impact together:
How you and the community will make an impact together:
Train health workers to deliver health education and behavior change messages
Encourage women to adopt practices that contribute to a healthy pregnancy, safe delivery, good postpartum health, and a healthy newborn.
Advocate for positive social behavior change messaging on diseases, such as malaria and HIV/AIDS
Promote gender-equitable norms and increase girls’ sense of agency
You may also work on additional projects that meet the community’s interests and priorities, such as a life skills summer camp or running club.
Volunteers live in rural villages no more than 5 kilometers from their health center work site.
Learn more about the living conditions, including detailed information on culture, communications, housing, and health/crime statistics on our Zambia country page. You can also delve into stories about local communities by reading our blog or Volunteer stories.
Meet a Volunteer in Zambia
Trinity S.
Community Health Empowerment Volunteer
"Rather than just looking at issues and jumping straight to solutions, I'll use what I've learned in the Peace Corps to take the time and energy to understand the lived experiences and daily challenges faced by those in affected communities."
See full Volunteer profile
As a Community Health Promoter, you will be introduced to Zambia’s health system and evidence-based prevention interventions for diseases. Peace Corps/Zambia will teach you one of the country’s 45 local languages to help you comfortably live in and connect with the community.
After 11 weeks of training, you will move to a rural community where you will support health center staff to develop educational activities and behavior change messaging.
Only heterosexual couples can be accepted for this program. Each person must apply separately and must qualify for a position in either the same or a different sector than their partner. Couples will live together during training but may separate occasionally for field-based activities. Couples who are selected for the same sector will live together but work with different local partners which may be in the same community or in neighboring communities (not more than 30 minutes apart).
To learn more about serving as a couple in Zambia, visit the country page.
Application process
From application to departure takes around nine months. Learn about the application process for Volunteer opportunities.
Medical/legal clearance
You will need to be cleared medically and legally in order to serve in Zambia. Review information on medical clearance and legal clearance to learn about the process.
