Amman, Jordan (ILO News) - The International Labour Organization and the Social Security Corporation (SSC) launched a WhatsApp chatbot in Jordan that will support the expansion of social security coverage among unregistered workers in the country and raise awareness about its benefits and programmes.

Simulating a conversation, the chatbot will provide its users with an automated conversation partner on WhatsApp, powered by rules or artificial intelligence, answering their questions on subjects related to social security.

“Effective service delivery capacity comes from harnessing information communications technology and data,” said Rodrigo Assumpcao, ILO Social Protection Management Information Systems Expert. “The combination of comprehensive social protection policies and adequate financing institutions can ensure social protection rights for all.”

The chatbot aims to promote the registration of workers in Estidama++, a project supported by the Governments of the Netherlands and Norway, addressing structural gaps in social security coverage in Jordan. The project focuses on informal vulnerable workers, including refugees and migrant workers, that were left out of the COVID-19 crisis national social protection response.

The ILO provided training on the use of the newly launched chatbot to SSC members during a two-day workshop in Amman earlier this month. Participants also discussed the role of new technologies in the extension of social security coverage and the best practices aimed at boosting the implementation of Information Communications Technologies (ICT) across the country’s social security systems and its governance.

The WhatsApp chatbot offers 24-7 phone support and is available on the following number: +962(0)778117117, providing answers in both Arabic and English to its users.
The chatbot was developed with technical and financial support from the ILO in Jordan, under PROSPECTS, a programme spearheaded by the Government of the Netherlands and Estidama++.