WHO adopts bot developed in Africa to raise global awareness about coronavirus
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted the use of a bot to disseminate information about coronavirus
- This comes at a time when various sources are releasing pieces of information in connection with the coronavirus
- WHO settled for the bot after its use in South Africa's health sector led to massive success
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The World Health Organisation (WHO) is raising awareness about the coronavirus epidemic with a bot developed in South Africa.
This has become necessary as there is a need for regular transmission of accurate information about the coronavirus outbreak.
Hundreds of millions of people all over the world fall on social media for information with the help of mobile devices and this has led to the need for the adoption of a reliable means of information transmission.
READ ALSO: Coronavirus: World leaders raise concerns about fake information on WhatsApp
In that respect, the WHO is making use of a WhatsApp platform developed by South African company, Praekelt.org, to provide information on the coronavirus outbreak at least 50 million people around the globe.
Per a report by qz.com, the coronavirus soon became a global epidemic at a time when Praekelt.org run a similar programme for South Africa’s health department on maternal health.
The success of the programme compelled Whatsapp to inform the WHO about Praekelt.org.
YEN.com.gh understands that the bot makes use of Turn.io’s machine learning technology to deliver automated responses for free.
Information churned out includes travel advice, latest numbers, symptoms and to dismiss myths and misconceptions about the outbreak.
According to WHO’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the bot would assist with information on the coronavirus, including details about symptoms as well as protective measures.
In other news, the use of social media platform, WhatsApp, has increased by 40%, as the coronavirus continues to spread all over the world.
This follows the desire of several users to go online to stay connected with family, friends and colleagues.
Fresh data coming from Kantar, an insights and consulting firm, shows that some apps are benefitting from the global spread of the coronavirus.
READ ALSO: Latest report shows Africans prefer modified versions of WhatsApp
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Source: YEN.com.gh
