New Delhi: Aiming to raise awareness and provide information about HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), micro-blogging site Twitter on Wednesday expanded its #ThereIsHelp notification service with a dedicated search prompt for HIV-related information.


The notification prompt will provide valuable and authoritative resources around HIV and encourage people to reach out and get help when they need it. The top search will include a notification in Hindi and English languages.


"We are committed to protecting the health of the public conversation on Twitter -- ensuring individuals can find credible information from authoritative sources is a key part of that mission," Shagufta Kamran, Public Policy, Twitter India, said in a statement.


This launch is an extension of Twitter's efforts to help people access high-quality public health information and resources, and will be available across the Asia Pacific and America -- Brazil, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, SP-Latam, Taiwan, Thailand, and the US.


"We also recognised that it is crucial for the public to have access to a free and #OpenInternet in combating the stigma around HIV," Kamran said.


"Therefore, we have partnered with public health authorities and local nonprofit organisations across the Asia Pacific to provide people with access to accurate information about HIV, getting the help that they need and launch a dedicated #ThereisHelp notification prompt for HIV," Kamran added.


With this prompt, when people search for keywords associated with HIV and/or AIDS, the top search result will now include a notification in Hindi and English, encouraging them to reach out for credible information and sources of help.


Data from Twitter shows that conversations about HIV spike around #WorldAIDSDay on December 1 every year. In 2020, there were close to 9 million Tweets about HIV globally, out of which over 1 million Tweets were generated in December 2020.


For the launch of the #ThereIsHelp HIV search prompt, Twitter has partnered with the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health.