By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 18th, 2024
The World Health Organization (WHO) is set to create a hackathon to help combat the effects of the coronavirus. Facebook, Microsoft and other tech giants are said to join.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has organized tech a new hackathon. This event is to create and encourage new soft skills to combat problems created by COVID-19. This comes at a time when people are getting laid off as the pandemic causes issues across the globe.
Many problems have arisen as a result of the COVID-19 situation. The software will be needed as part of the solution to the problem. This is where technology giants can help.
WHO Partners with Major Tech Firms for Hackathon
Sources also say that major technology firms are also partners in the project. #BuildforCOVID19 as the project is tagged has included technology giants including Facebook, Microsoft, and others as well. Sources say that Twitter, TikTok, Giphy, Slack, and Pinterest will also be part of the hackathon. These companies will reportedly be a part of the coordinating process. They will help the participants and give them access to the required tools for the event.
Mark Zuckerberg appears to be excited about the event. He reportedly said in a post:
“Features like Blood Donations and Crisis Response were first built during hackathons and are now used by millions of people worldwide. I’m hopeful that some useful prototypes and ideas will come out of this one as well.”
Software developers are to create projects around the following areas: Business, vulnerable populations, education and entertainment, health and community. These areas reportedly are the worst hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the ones also riddled with the most problems. The great thing, however, is that they will be critical for the recovery as soon as things die down.
The hackathon reportedly has an April 3rd deadline. It’s open to just about anybody. And it is 100% online. According to sources, the WHO said:
“Given the isolation currently being experienced within communities right now, we want to create an online space where developers could ideate, experiment and build software solutions to help address this crisis,”
Technology Will Help Solve the Problems Created by Covid-19
While this will create innovations that will be used by professionals in different sectors, it also could be the rise of the tech world. With social distancing and isolation on the rise, many people are wondering how humanity will solve its problems now. The technology giants offer one way out. Software services many of which have been hitherto controversial will now play critical roles in solving the many problems that COVID-19 will bring.
At this time, the many issues of privacy, data collection, and co. are at the backburner. What everyone seems to be interested in is how COVID-19 will change the world. The fall out of the various restrictions seems to be more than the effects of the virus itself.
Technology might just be the answer to our problems. At least for now.