NEWTOWN, Pa., July 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
- What's the News: EPAM has engineered an innovative
mobile platform to enhance the web-based 'HealthBuddy COVID-19'
chatbot app, developed by the United Nations Children's
Fund/Europe and Central Asia
Regional Office (UNICEF ECARO), as a reliable source of information
and advice related to COVID-19.
- Why it Matters: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to
upend lives, access to relevant and reliable facts remains vital to
support emergency risk communications and promote protective and
preventive behaviors at the community and individual levels.
- Who is it for: National authorities, public health
institutions, social service agencies, families and individuals.
The app is currently available in English, Greek, Italian, Kazakh,
Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.
EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE: EPAM), a leading global provider of
digital platform engineering and software development services, is
pleased to announce it has entered into a partnership with UNICEF
ECARO to build a multi-featured 'HealthBuddy COVID-19' information
app designed to protect children, families and communities across
Europe and Central Asia.
Merging the common features and functions of EPAM's COVID
Resistance app with UNICEF ECARO's interactive web-based
HealthBuddy chatbot app, EPAM has engineered a new platform that
enables users to access trusted information while promoting
protective and preventive behaviors at the individual and community
levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
"Reaching children, young people and parents in the Region with
reliable and accurate messages about COVID-19 is an important part
of addressing the myths and countering the misinformation around
the pandemic," says Afshan Khan,
UNICEF's Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia. "We welcome
this partnership with EPAM to enhance the HealthBuddy chatbot app's
features, services and versatility. We also appreciate EPAM's
commitment to work with UNICEF in the pandemic response, as we
continuously strive to protect every child."
Currently available in English, Greek, Italian, Kazakh,
Macedonian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish, the
'HealthBuddy COVID-19' chatbot can be tailored by national
authorities and public health institutions in local languages and
utilized for a wide range of potential public health emergencies or
for promoting life-saving behaviors like vaccination in the
future. Below are just a few of its features and uses:
- The general public can receive public health messages
and information, share opinions, report rumors, ask questions to
public health workers, participate in surveys/polls at different
stages of the pandemic, to assess the secondary impact of COVID-19,
and use self-assessment tools to prevent the spread of
Coronavirus.
- Health authorities can send alerts regarding those who
confirm or suspect they have the virus, with opt-in and opt-out
features for exposure notification to help in real-time monitoring
of the situation.
- Health workers can access a knowledge library for
information on how to manage cases, get alerts for new
developments, medicines and best practices, and utilize exposure
notification tools to monitor infected cases when the exposure
notification feature is deployed. By having access to updated
information and people's concerns/sentiments about COVID-19, at
different stages of the pandemic, health workers will be better
equipped to interact and communicate with families and communities
with relevant and timely messages.
"We are proud to be a part of UNICEF's collaborative effort to
protect children and families," says Arkadiy Dobkin, CEO, EPAM Systems. "COVID-19 is
a difficult virus to track, as many individuals who are contagious
do not show symptoms and many regions are faced with a lack of
conclusive testing or unclear guidance, which makes it more likely
for the contagion to spread. By merging, adapting and expanding the
combined features of our applications, we are enabling a platform
that can provide critical, up-to-date information and help control
the spread of the virus."
In addition to engineering the GDPR- and HIPAA-compliant app,
EPAM will provide in-kind technical support through December 31, 2021 to ensure the success of the
platform.
To learn more about EPAM and HealthBuddy, visit
www.epam.com.
About EPAM Systems
Since 1993, EPAM Systems,
Inc. (NYSE: EPAM) has leveraged its software engineering expertise
to become a leading global product development, digital platform
engineering, and top digital and product design agency. Through its
'Engineering DNA' and innovative strategy, consulting, and design
capabilities, EPAM works in collaboration with its customers to
deliver next-gen solutions that turn complex business challenges
into real business outcomes. EPAM's global teams serve customers in
more than 30 countries across North
America, Europe,
Asia and Australia. As a recognized market leader in
multiple categories among top global independent research agencies,
EPAM was one of only four technology companies to appear on Forbes
25 Fastest Growing Public Tech Companies list every year of
publication since 2013 and was the only IT services company
featured on Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies list of
2019. Learn more at www.epam.com and follow us on
Twitter @EPAMSYSTEMS and LinkedIn.
About UNICEF
UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing
of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we
work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment
into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most
vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children,
everywhere. For more information about UNICEF and its work for
children, visit www.unicef.org/eca.
Notes to editors:
UNICEF does not endorse any
company, brand, product or service.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
includes statements which may constitute forward-looking statements
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are
necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to
future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied include general economic conditions and the factors
discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EPAM
undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events,
or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities
law.
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SOURCE EPAM Systems, Inc.