Building a chatbot in a pandemic (Preprint)

Easy access to evidence-based information on COVID-19 within an infodemic has been a challenging task. Chatbots have been introduced in times of emergency, when human resources are stretched thin and individuals need a user-centered resource. The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) Europe and Central Asia came together to build a chatbot, HealthBuddy+, to assist country populations in the region to access accurate COVID-19 information in the local languages, adapted to the country context. Working in close collaboration with thematic technical experts, colleagues and counterparts at the country level allowed the project to be tailored to a diverse range of subtopics. To ensure that HealthBuddy+ was relevant and useful in countries across the region, the 2 regional offices worked closely with their counterparts in country offices, which were essential in partnering with national authorities, engaging communities, promoting the tool, and identifying the most relevant communication channels in which to embed HealthBuddy+. Over the past 2 years, the project has expanded from a web-based chatbot in 7 languages to a multistream, multifunction chatbot available in 16 regional languages, and HealthBuddy+ continues to expand and adjust to meet emerging health emergency needs.