Meet Aida
A WhatsApp companion supporting people affected by tuberculosis
What is Aida?
Aida is a WhatsApp-based digital companion that supports people affected by tuberculosis beyond the clinic. It combines conversational AI with human oversight, ensuring people receive timely support while clinical care and decision-making remain with health professionals.
Aida is designed to complement routine TB services, not replace them and to do so without adding burden to clinics or health workers.
How is Aida supporting people
Aida helps people by:
- sharing simple, culturally appropriate information and encouragement
- supporting them to manage side effects, concerns, and daily treatment routines
- helping people stay on treatment through ongoing guidance
- ensuring that concerning situations are followed up by a real person when needed
People interact with Aida voluntarily via WhatsApp and can stop at any time.
Two ways Aida supports TB programmes
Treatment support
- Encouragement and guidance to support treatment adherence
- Help with side effects, concerns, and daily routines
- Escalation to a real person when needed
Care Navigator
- Supports people already identified as presumptive TB, including those first seen in private, informal, or community settings
- Helps navigate testing, referral, and next steps to reduce early loss to follow-up
- Enables transition into digital treatment support if diagnosed
Aida does not screen for TB or make diagnoses.
How it works in practice
- People access Aida directly via WhatsApp (QR code, link, or invite message)
- No new systems are required at clinics
- No routine reporting or data entry is required from health workers
- When Aida flags a concern, a designated implementing partner provides human follow-up
This keeps the approach low-burden, scalable, and adaptable across different settings.
Where Aida has been demonstrated
Aida has been developed and demonstrated with partners in South Africa, Nigeria, and Mozambique, supporting people on TB treatment and enabling structured human follow-up while generating useful programme insights without adding workload to health services.
Why this approach matters
Aida helps programmes:
- strengthen engagement across the TB care pathway
- reduce loss to follow-up outside the clinic
- support people in a people-centred and rights-based way
- extend support into community and private-sector pathways
All while keeping the focus on care delivery rather than additional system management.
Frequently Asked Questions about Aida
Together, we’re making TB care more human, understandable, and easier to stick with.
📲 Want to try Aida?
Send a message via WhatsApp by clicking in the button below or scan the QR code. You can experience first-hand how Aida supports people on TB treatment.
Together, we are working to make TB care more human, more understandable, and easier to stick with, especially for people navigating long and difficult treatment journeys. Interested in exploring how Aida could support your programme or implementation context? Reach out to the project lead, Kristian van Kalmthout.