Public Health Under Fire: AI for Health in Conflict Zones

Juntao Jiang

Track: tiny / short paper (up to 4 pages)

Keywords: AI for Healthcare; Conflict Zones; Offline-First Systems; Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs); Edge and On-Device AI; Portable and Wearable Medical Devices; Fault-Tolerant Design

Abstract: Conflict zones are characterized by persistent infrastructure disruptions, including prolonged power outages, network failures, and severe limitations in medical equipment, which fundamentally challenge conventional AI-for-healthcare systems. This work reviews the unique obstacles and deployment requirements of AI in such environments and discusses key technical strategies to address them. In particular, we emphasize a sustainable offline-first framework with dual-track MLLM deployment, the integration of portable and wearable AI-enabled sensing devices, fault-tolerant system design, and task-oriented evaluation, aiming to ensure resilient and practical medical support when traditional healthcare systems are partially or fully disrupted.

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Submission Number: 3