Myna Bolo: A Chatbot for Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health in Urban Slums

Suhani Jalota of the Myna Mahila Foundation in India will build a chatbot, Myna Bolo, by incorporating Large Language Models (LLMs) into their health application to provide tailored sexual and reproductive health services through smartphones, via text or audio, in local languages to women in India. In India, 71% of girls report not knowing about menstruation before their first period. This is because of limited access to unbiased information due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of resources. Information needs to be non-judgmental, confidential, accurate, and tailored to those living in urban slums. They will incorporate LLMs by integrating Google Bard into their application. Women can then ask questions and receive tailored responses that are considerate of their backgrounds and limited smartphone access, and respectful of their privacy. They will select accurate source material, relevant to local women in different languages, and incorporate fact-checking capabilities and maps for providing referrals and treatments.