Tania Aidrus, head Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ‘Digital Pakistan’ initiative and the former Google Head of Strategic Initiatives on the Next Billion Users (NBU), has announced a coronavirus focused Urdu chatbot to provide Pakistanis with authentic information.
In her attempt to fight the current epidemic outbreak and to help the locals, Tania Aidrus decided to collaborate with the telemedicine companies and startups.
As expected, several firms, companies, and startups jumped at the opportunity of working with her, which is why in such a short span of time, she came up with this effective way of getting information out to Pakistanis.
The chatbot is equipped to provide users with authentic information regarding the current situation of the epidemic in the country. Apart from getting the latest news, people can also get all the information regarding the nearest laboratories that can help them carry out a self-assessment test.
The chatbot can be accessed via Facebook messenger here. If you don’t have a Facebook account, you might want to get one now.
Once you are in, the chatbot asks you to select your preferred language (you can choose between Urdu and English). After selecting the language, the chatbot tells you that you have subscribed to the COVID-19 updates. It also gives you several FAQs that you can get immediate answers to.
The chatbot even asks you about your medical condition to infer whether you have been infected or not.
This thoughtful initiative will help many locals who don’t know what to do in the prevailing situation.
