WHO debuts S.A.R.A.H., a GenAI health assistant, to offer personalized health advice globally.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new initiative in digital health by introducing S.A.R.A.H., a Smart AI Resource Assistant for Health. This digital health promoter, powered by GenAI, is designed to deliver personalized, empathetic health information to users worldwide. S.A.R.A.H. can converse in eight languages, making critical health information accessible to a broad audience at any time on any device.

S.A.R.A.H. offers advice on various health topics, including disease prevention, healthy living, and mental well-being. Its ability to learn from interactions allows it to tailor information and recommendations to each user’s needs and preferences. This level of personalization is achieved through the use of advanced language models and GenAI technologies, underscoring WHO’s commitment to leveraging digital innovation for health promotion.

The development of S.A.R.A.H. reflects WHO’s vision for the future of health, emphasizing technology integration to enhance human connection and accessibility to reliable health information. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, has highlighted the tool’s potential to transform the way health information is accessed and utilized, urging the global research community to explore further the capabilities of GenAI in narrowing health inequities.

However, implementing S.A.R.A.H. and similar GenAI tools raises important ethical considerations. WHO is actively pursuing research to understand the benefits and address equitable access, privacy, and data protection challenges. The organization emphasizes the importance of continuously evaluating and refining these technologies to ensure they meet the highest standards of ethics and evidence-based content. Through S.A.R.A.H. and its commitment to digital tools, WHO continues to innovate in disseminating health information, aiming to impact global public health significantly.