UTAS students launch AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot to address adolescent reproductive health challenges 

The chatbot, named SafeSiso, meaning “Safe Big Sister,” was developed by Ms Munayya Musah Seidu and Mr Abdul Aziz Alhassan, to provide young people aged between 10 and 19 years with a confidential platform to ask questions on sensitive issues such as menstruation, relationships, pregnancy and other sexual and reproductive health concerns.

The innovation was launched in Navrongo in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality, as part of efforts to address adolescent pregnancy and other reproductive health challenges by providing young people with accurate information and linking them to appropriate support services.

Ms Seidu, the Co-Founder of SafeSiso, said the initiative was conceived in response to the difficulty that many young people faced in discussing sexual and reproductive health issues with parents, teachers and other trusted persons because of stigma and cultural taboos.