Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

WHO Health Alert Launches in Arabic on WhatsApp


Sun 29 Mar 2020 | 09:19 AM
Ahmad El-Assasy

WHO launched dedicated messaging services in Arabic with partners WhatsApp and Facebook on Saturday keep people safe from coronavirus.

This easy-to-use messaging service has the potential to reach 2 billion people and enables WHO to get information directly into the hands of the people that need it.

From government leaders to health workers and family and friends, this messaging service will provide the latest news and information on coronavirus including details on symptoms and how people can protect themselves and others. It also provides the latest situation reports and numbers in real-time to help government decision-makers protect the health of their populations.

The service can be accessed by a link that opens a conversation on WhatsApp. Users can simply type "مرحبا" to activate the conversation, prompting a menu of options that can help answer their questions about COVID-19.

Join WHO's Health Alert on WhatsApp:

Arabic: wa.me/41225017023?text=مرحبا

It is worth mentioning that, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 121,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

According to the organization, the number of COVID-19 infections outside China has doubled in the past two weeks, and the number of countries hit by the epidemic has tripled.

“We are very concerned to achieve the alarming levels of the outbreak and its severity, as well as the alarming levels of inaction,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference in Geneva.

More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease Covid-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, and Iran.

Transmission of virus between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.