Stopping COVID-19 with a Phone Call

The Challenge

COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, and people need access to updated, specific information so that they know what to do if they have symptoms or want to prevent the spread of this virus. Advice and resources can be found online, but in low- and middle-income countries such as Uganda or Malawi, less than 20% of the population owns a smartphone with the ability to access COVID-19 resources on the Internet.

Our Approach

In Mali, Malawi, and Uganda, we have launched a free, automated call-based symptom checker for COVID-19 that empowers individuals to enter their symptoms, assess their risk, and receive recommendations for managing their condition. This technology solution also generates timely symptom-tracking insights for public health experts monitoring the spread of the virus.

Key Results

Since launching in the fall of 2020, the symptom checker has:

• Received calls from 53,000 people seeking information about COVID-19 symptoms.
• Identified 12,000 potential high-risk COVID-19 cases.
• Demonstrated a new scalable way for governments to communicate critical information to citizens and forecast potential hotspots.

As COVID-19 continues to spread into new corners of the world, low- and middle-income countries are struggling with limited resources to stop the spread, including ways to educate and empower the public. But low ownership rates for smartphones and literacy challenges make it difficult for many people to access real-time and verified information on evaluating, treating, and containing the coronavirus.

We have developed a freely available and accessible solution to reach this targeted population. Working with the Clinton Health Access Initiative and Viamo, we created a free call-based symptom triage tool that people can dial using a basic mobile phone if they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. 

Free to users, the symptom checker leads people through a series of prompts, assesses their risk, and provides personalized recommendations based on those symptoms and other pre-existing conditions using interactive voice response. The system is also testing behavioral nudges through automated follow ups with selected users, reminding them to practice protective behaviors against COVID-19, such as wearing a mask and washing their hands and verifying if high-risk cases have gotten tested. 

In addition to this group, the symptom tracker will provide insights on what symptoms are being experienced where. This will allow public health experts to gather current information about the potential spread of the disease.

The symptom tracker is easily scalable and updatable with new content as we learn more about treating COVID-19. That content could include different kinds of messages, allowing public health experts to determine the most effective ways and times of communicating health information in a pandemic. With government approval, the symptom tracker can even be integrated into existing information hotlines.