This week, the World Health Organization launched a messaging service via WhatsApp, to bring its two billion users COVID-19 information via their mobile devices. Accessible 24/7, the chatbot is for government leaders, health workers, as well as the general public.
The new messaging service provides up-to-date news and information on coronavirus along with the most recent statistics from the WHO which created the service called ‘WHO Health Alert.’
“This includes details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves as well as others. It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real-time to help government decision-makers protect the health of citizens”
Want to keep up with the latest on coronavirus? Access this link, and a conversation will open via WhatsApp. By typing ‘hi,’ you can activate the conversation, which prompts a menu of options that might answer many of the burning questions everyday folks have about the virus.
In an ongoing effort to prevent the spread of rumors, WhatApp last week launched the ‘Coronavirus Information Hub’ to help reduce the possibility of misinformation spreading during the time of a pandemic. Created in conjunction with the WHO, UNICEF, and UNDP, the service is for business professionals who rely on WhatsApp for mission-critical business services. According to the new information hub:
“If you aren’t sure something’s true, don’t forward it”
WhatsApp has resources for community leaders, healthcare professionals who want to hold remote conferences, send quick responses to FAQs, and track patients remotely. There are even resources for educators to connect with students, ways of sending/receiving assignments, sharing lessons, and more.
Already, medical professionals in Paris have formed a WhatsApp group to send the latest updates on hospital capacities. Elsewhere, patients in Brazil can now schedule appointments and ask doctors questions using the messaging app.
If you were ever looking for a practical application of chatbot technology, this one is a monumental use-case and poised to assist hundreds of millions of WhatsApp users in accessing valuable, life-saving, and accurate information, something today we seem to take for granted.
Now is the time to seek accurate information, as it could mean the difference between life and death. And that for once is not sensationalism. For the latest numbers, ways to protect yourself, debunking myths, travel advice, news, and more, I’d encourage you to check out the new app available free of charge.
So, here’s another plug, you can send a message via WhatsApp to +41 79 893 18 92 for more information. For now, the app is in English, but we can assume they’ll roll out versions in the coming weeks in other widely-spoken languages like Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, etc.
Facebook, WhatsApp’s parent company has long dealt with misinformation spreading on its social media platform, but it now seems to be taking steps toward righting this wrong.
Unfortunately, it takes something of this nature to bring us all together, but what we need at this point is to unify, stay inside, and get this virus under control. Although everyday lives are henceforth affected, we must try to maintain a sense of togetherness for the greater good of humanity and this app may help in reducing some of the stress felt around the world.
