The UNFPA has introduced a chatbot named 'Just Ask!' in India, which serves as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) digital tool aimed at educating adolescents and young adults about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Developed by UNFPA sexual and reproductive health experts, the chatbot was launched in close partnership with India's National Health Mission (NHM) and the Department of Public Health and Family Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh.

This initiative is partially funded by the international pharmaceutical company Bayer, which recently entered an agreement with UNFPA to contribute $720,000 towards enhancing awareness regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights among adolescents and young people in India.

The chatbot offers a secure and personalized platform for Indian adolescents and young adults aged 15-29 to access information, learn about their rights, dispel misconceptions, and seek assistance concerning sexual and reproductive health. It is designed to provide accurate information endorsed exclusively by UNFPA, with the objective of empowering users to make well-informed decisions. The topics covered include areas often surrounded by stigma or misunderstanding, such as puberty, menstruation, sexual and gender identity, safe sex, and contraception. The development of this platform adheres to UNFPA's guidelines for the ethical and safe use of technology, prioritizing user data privacy.

Globally, approximately 218 million women who wish to prevent pregnancy lack access to effective modern contraceptives. UNFPA and Bayer share a common goal of expanding access to safe contraceptives, resulting in a global partnership agreement signed in November 2022 to strengthen local health systems. This partnership focuses on capacity building, supply chain management, innovation, gender equality, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Indian project specifically concentrates on leveraging digital technologies to promote healthy sexual and reproductive behavior, which in turn supports family planning.

Bayer's head of sustainability in the pharmaceutical division, Frank Strelow, highlighted the potential of digital innovations in raising awareness and advancing sexual reproductive health among young individuals. He emphasized that this initiative aligns with Bayer's ambitious target of providing contraception access to 100 million women in low- and middle-income countries by 2030. Strelow emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts to identify and implement effective online and offline solutions for reproductive health that can be scaled and integrated into local health systems.