India: When Young People Need Answers, Who Responds?

Online Volunteers highlight UNFPA India’s JustAsk! AI chatbot

Almost half of India’s population is under 30. Millions of young people have questions about their bodies, relationships and futures. But when it comes to sexual and reproductive health, silence often speaks louder than answers. Questions go unasked, myths fill the gap and young people are left to make life-changing decisions without the information they need.

Now what if asking for help was as simple as sending a message?

Ask Without Barriers

That question inspired JustAsk! (Khulke Poocho!), an AI-enabled, WhatsApp-based chatbot launched by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India in collaboration with the National Health Mission in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Designed to provide confidential, judgment-free information on sexual and reproductive health and mental well-being, JustAsk! offers young people a safe space to seek answers. Anytime, anywhere.

UNFPA India’s programme strategies helped expand the chatbot. Since its launch in 2023, JustAsk! has reached nearly one million young people, responding to more than 3.5 million queries from users across 20 states in India.

To further expand its reach, UNFPA India engaged 35 Online Volunteers through the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) platform to raise awareness and strengthen trust in the chatbot among their peers and communities.

Turning Technology into Trust

Online Volunteers helped raise awareness of JustAsk!, encouraging young people to explore the chatbot and start conversations about privacy, online safety, sexual and reproductive health, and mental well-being.

For these volunteers, raising awareness was more than sharing a link; it was about building trust in spaces where stigma runs deep for young people. They brought the chatbot from screens into communities, ensuring young people knew they could ask questions without fear or judgment.

An Online Volunteer, Ishank, discovered the opportunity through the UNV website.

"I was drawn to JustAsk! because it improves youth access to reliable and non-judgmental information," Ishank shared. "It felt meaningful and aligned with the kind of work I want to contribute to."

"Convincing young people that the chatbot is safe, trusted and private was the key part of my outreach. Once people in my network tried it, the approach gained momentum," recalls another Online Volunteer, Prince.

Together, the Online Volunteers helped spread the word, reaching more than 3,000 young people through social media and encouraging conversations about the chatbot and the issues that affect their daily lives. But getting people to listen was only the first step. Building trust took time, understanding and simple, honest conversations about topics that are often difficult to discuss openly.

The UNFPA Testimonial

Upon completion, every Online Volunteer walked away with important lessons learned and received a message of appreciation from Andrea M. Wojnar, UNFPA Country Representative.

Through weeks of outreach on social media and conversations with communities, volunteers honed skills in communication and advocacy. “Setting my own deadlines and holding myself accountable became an important part of the journey,” shared Online Volunteer Khadija. 

For Lalit, knowing the work made a difference was the motivating factor.

“Being part of a digital intervention that supports young people with reliable sexual and reproductive health knowledge was both meaningful and impactful,” Lalit said. 

Sometimes Help Starts with a Simple Message

Today, JustAsk! continues to grow.

The volunteers helped UNFPA India reach young people where they already were—online, on their phones and in their communities. This initiative also demonstrated that real change often starts with something simple: a message received at the right moment, a conversation that makes someone feel heard or a trusted voice pointing a young person towards help.

Small actions can change lives, and together these volunteers helped ensure that no young person had to navigate important questions alone.

This story was originally published by UN Volunteers. Please visit the UN team's website for more information about the UN's work in India.