Introduction

Young people in Jakarta (aged 15-39 years) often find it difficult to find information about sexual and reproductive health rights, as well as HIV services. There is also a need to expand outreach strategies to different target audiences through innovative means.

Description

In the spirit of reaching out to the younger generation, UNAIDS Indonesia and Nimbly Technologies are developing "Tanya Marlo", a chat robot (chatbot) based on Artificial Intelligence, which is designed for conversations about HIV and AIDS. Marlo is connected to the LINE chat messaging app.

Tanya Marlo or Ask Marlo has several features:
o Articles, infographics, myths-facts, videos and other informative content regarding topics around HIV/AIDS
o Questions and answers regarding HIV/AIDS in an interactive quiz format
o Access to a trusted counselor that can help answer questions regarding HIV/AIDS
o List of clinics that provide HIV testing, as well as relevant information such as location, pricing and opening hours
o Online booking for HIV test. Partnering with FHI 360 / Linkages', the chat bot allows users to make HIV test appointments without exiting the LINE app. Users can make appointments at 8 clinics in Jakarta, as well as see clinic references throughout Indonesia. Especially for clinic bookings in Jakarta, proof of reservation will be sent via email

Data Collection

Social Media outreach (Facebook, Twitter, Intagram and Line), Website traffic, and online ads

Results, Outputs, and Outcomes

The impact of the Tanya Marlo platform is continuously measured with a monthly monitoring report, which recaps the reach of the campaigns on all the social media platforms. The monthly monitoring report is able to provide insights into what topics and issues are most frequently sought after by the public. As of February 2022, Marlo campaign reaches more than 17,800 users in all platforms. In addition to this, the Tanya Marlo platform also refers users to counselling services that link them to access services. The counselling, provided by the network of PLHIV, is also monitored regularly and saw a decline due to Covid-19 pandemic decreasing people’s willingness to visit health facilities.

Lessons Learned

• Increase knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS among young people, particularly MSM
• Making sure the user interface is interactive and friendly, including the characters

If relevant, Please describe the sustainability/continuity of the best practice within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transition of Tanya Marlo management from UNAIDS to Yayasan Kasih Suwitno (YKS) which also manages the campaign and platform @sayaberani. Also need to continue to improve Tanya Marlo's performance by strengthening social media and websites. Tanya Marlo is a collaborative effort, involving many stakeholders including community organisations as the implementing partner who create content and provide counselling on the platform, as well as development partners who support the platform’s establishment and maintenance.

Conclusion

In the setting where HIV/AIDS is stigmatized, Tanya Marlo provides easy access for young people to receive credible information and services. This can be applied in other settings with similar barriers on access to information.