BBC launches WhatsApp Ebola service
Sierra Leone's health services were neglected because of conflict
The BBC has launched an Ebola public health information service on WhatsApp, aimed at users of the service in West Africa.
The service will provide audio, text message alerts and images to help people get the latest public health information to combat the spread of Ebola in the region.
Content will be limited to three items a day, and the service will be in English and French.
To subscribe, send 'JOIN' via WhatsApp to +44 7702 348 651
To unsubscribe, send 'STOP' via WhatsApp to the same number.
As the biggest "chat app" in use in Africa, the platform is being used as a means of reaching people in the region directly through their mobile phones.
The response to Ebola is now the BBC World Service's biggest health information drive since its reporting on HIV/Aids in the 1980s and 1990s. In addition to the WhatsApp service, the BBC is offering a range of content on radio, online and TV, including special Ebola bulletins in several languages.
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