COVID-19 HealthAlert

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Ensuring the public has the best possible health information is crucial during an outbreak.

At best, misinformation can distract from critical health prevention support. At worst, it can lead to behaviour that amplifies disease transmission. The novelty of COVID-19 makes the challenge even greater as viral speculation can easily overwhelm the limited information we do have.

With countries experiencing a massive need for direct communication about COVID-19, Praekelt.org (using Turn.io) has developed a solution to empower citizens with the right information and support the national response of the health systems that serve them.

HealthAlert disseminates accurate, timeous information to the public via WhatsApp at population scale.

How does it work?

  • A WhatsApp-based helpline to support users on health queries or concerns, helping to direct them to accurate information sources when required.


  • An automated information response that provides answers to the most frequently asked questions and relieves traffic to call centre helplines.


  • Machine learning and natural language understanding that enable automatic triage, helping to manage conversations at scale.


  • Real-time data insights to support effective decision-making in the national response to COVID-19.


  • Support in multiple languages.

 
 

HealthAlert Onboarding Guidelines

Praekelt.org and Turn.io are making HealthAlert available free to ministries of health during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

Once an application for HealthAlert has been received, an on-boarding process follows to prepare to facilitate rapid turnaround and deployment. 

The first 6 steps

  1. Application - Apply for Covid-19 HealthAlert via this online application.

  2. Letter of Support - You will be required to provide an official signed letter of support from your government.

  3. WhatsApp Approval - On receipt, we will submit your letter of support to WhatsApp for approval. 

  4. Kickoff Call - We will arrange a kick-off call to discuss the next steps.

  5. Contracting  - After the kick off call, we will share a contract with you for signature.

  6. Onboarding Deck - We will also share our onboarding info deck to provide you with detailed understanding of the requirements

Once these steps are complete, we will work with you to complete the onboarding, followed by specific production steps.

Finally, we will provide guidelines for the launch of COVID-19 HealthAlert in your country.  

We look forward to working collaboratively with you on bringing essential COVID-19 health information to your country and citizens.

 

How is it currently being used?

  • A version of HealthAlert has been launched in South Africa with the National Department of Health called COVID-19 Connect. The service resulted in over 1 million users within just three days of launching and continues to climb. Click here to view demo

  • Countries or organisations can roll out their own versions in local languages and can enhance the service with country-specific information that is trusted and up to date.

Organisations & Countries that are using HealthAlert

  • WHO

  • South Africa

  • New Zealand

  • Australia

  • Mozambique

  • Ethiopia