Enhancement to COVID-19 mobile app rolled out across WHO European Region
WHO
HealthBuddy+ aims to provide accurate information for people across the European Region to protect themselves from COVID-19
WHO/Europe and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) today rolled out the latest enhancement to a multi-featured information platform, designed to protect people and communities across the Region during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
The HealthBuddy+ mobile app is designed to support public access to evidence-based information on COVID-19. Using machine-learning and artificial intelligence and relying on continuous fact-checking conducted by WHO/Europe and UNICEF ECARO experts, the app provides the latest information based on users’ needs.
The interactive app has 3 main features: a chatbot, a rumour reporting tool and a poll system:
- Through the chatbot, the users can access relevant information about the pandemic and ask their own questions.
- On the rumour reporting tool, they can report rumours, which are fact-checked against the latest COVID-19 research.
- Through the polls, they can share their opinion about different aspects of the pandemic.
The app gathers information on different topics related to the pandemic, including COVID-19 symptoms, modes of transmission, mask use, physical distancing, mental health and vaccine development. It also features a list of myth busters, debunking common myths spreading on social media and other channels. The content is continuously updated to reflect new findings about the virus and how to tackle it.
HealthBuddy+ is available for free download from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in English and Russian, with other languages becoming available soon.
The application is also available free of charge to national authorities in the Region who wish to tailor the content to their national recommendations and language.
