The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Facebook and Praekelt.org so that information about COVID-19 achieves a greater reach in the most vulnerable and needy populations and communities in the world.
Despite the fact that more than 85% of the world's population lives in areas where there is coverage for mobile phones, not all the population has the necessary resources to acquire a telephone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the internet has been the primary means of disseminating official information and staying connected in times of social distancing.
Faced with this situation, the WHO has implemented various communication and connectivity strategies, so that more people have access to reliable information about the pandemic. Through collaboration with Praekelt and Facebook, the WHO seeks to expand access to potentially life-saving information about COVID-19 in more than 55 countries through two Facebook Connectivity projects: Discover and Free Basics.
Discover is a web and mobile application for Android, which allows you to browse any site on the internet using free mobile data through a daily balance. Facebook has brought Discover to several countries. Free Basics, on the other hand, provides users with access to basic services such as medical and health information, job sites, internet communication tools, educational resources, official information from local governments, all without mobile data charges. .
“We are very excited to build on our successful partnership with the WHO, Facebook and WhatsApp to ensure that anyone with a mobile phone has access to quality COVID-19 information from a trusted source like the WHO,” said Gustav Praekelt, founder of WHO. Praekelt.org.
Likewise, Andrew Pattison, Manager of Digital Solutions at WHO explained the following: “This exciting partnership not only helps us ensure that the world's most vulnerable have access to life-saving public health information, but also furthers the democratization of the knowledge throughout the world.
