WhatsApp announces the launch of health awareness chatbot called 'Bol Behen' for young women in India

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 31 March 2022

WhatsApp announced that they will be launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based chatbot called 'Bol Behen' (colloquial Hindi for 'Speak, Sister') in India to assist adolescent girls and young girls women with questions about general health and sexual wellbeing in collaboration with non-profit Girl Effect.

In a chat format on the instant messaging app, the app is aimed to deliver content on themes pertaining to women's reproductive health, sexuality, and relationships. Users can communicate with the chatbot in "Hinglish," a language that combines English and Hindi. Users can also ask inquiries on a variety of subjects.

Users can access the Bol Behen chatbot by sending a message to +91-7304496601 on WhatsApp or viewing its profile on the web.

The new chatbot is aimed at adolescent girls and young women in India's Hindi belt who often use low-end devices with inadequate Internet connectivity, according to WhatsApp.

In the future, the chatbot is expected to reach millions of girls across India, answering their health-related questions and concerns and connecting them to authorised providers.

In 2020, Girl Effect introduced the Bol Behen chatbot on Facebook Messenger in India for the first time. Over 1.6 million messages were received, bringing the total number of chats to around 100,000 lakh. Big Sis, a similar chatbot that was introduced in South Africa to provide nonjudgmental guidance on matters relevant to women's sexual health and relationships, was the inspiration for the chatbot.

Kanishk Kabiraj, Girl Effect Country Lead for India stated, “WhatsApp’s technology offers us the opportunity to forge closer links between girls and the health services they need, providing content that solves her concerns and encourages her to access healthcare, through connection with curated and vetted providers.”

He also added, “This will help us to deliver more seamless, personalized healthcare journeys in the future — for example, leading to girls booking appointments, getting reminders, and sharing feedback all within Bol Behen.”

Girl Effect uses chatbots, chat programmes, and TV dramas to reach girls and young women in Africa and Asia, providing them with information about their bodies and health. This innovative chatbot, which is aimed at young Indian adolescent girls, will surely result in the speedier conveyance of accurate information about women's health.