A Nigerian founder has built an AI mental health app that links users to a chatbot and to real therapists, IOL reported. The platform, called OurPadi, now has users in South Africa and several other countries.
Esther Eruchie started the company FriendnPal in 2023. Its OurPadi platform has more than 34,000 users and over 67 human therapists in its network, according to Eruchie.
“We are not totally scrapping out the work that human therapists do, but what we do is we augment the work that they do,” Eruchie said.
Eruchie said the app works in more than 50 languages, including Zulu, Yoruba and Swahili. Its users live in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ghana and parts of Europe.
The app is built around an AI chatbot called Pal or Padi. Users can talk to it by text or by voice.
OurPadi also offers mood tracking, journaling, calming sounds and online forums. Users can connect directly with real therapists through the platform.
Eruchie described the setup as a “human-in-the-loop escalation system”. The AI checks chats for signs that a user may need more help. It uses screening tools such as PHQ-9 and WHO-5 to spot possible dangers.
“We’re focusing majorly on the triggers and stresses of mental health, rather than diagnosis of mental-health issues,” she said.
The idea came from her own family’s loss. Her brother, who was autistic and nonverbal, died in his early twenties. Her mother was later diagnosed with major depression.
Eruchie said her father at first refused to accept mental illness as a medical problem. Her mother was taken to churches and prayer homes for help instead. She died three months after her son, after collapsing on her way home from a prayer session.
Eruchie later worked on human trafficking cases in Libya, Cameroon and Nigeria. There she met people dealing with trauma. She said group support was offered, but one-on-one care was hard to find. She has also faced depression herself and was diagnosed with ADHD.
One user, Blessing Matthew, said she found the app on the Google Play Store. She was dealing with problems in her business, her relationships and her mental health. She feared friends and family would judge her.
“I was able to interact with it. And it gave me what I actually needed,” Matthew said. “No judgement, no castigation.”
Therapist and psychologist Fidelis Kor warned that AI should not replace expert care. He said it can help people with short-term stress.
“If it’s something that has gone on and off and you’ve tried talking to your friends, family, you use AI, and this situation persists, then you need to talk to somebody who is qualified for it,” Kor said.
“The big risk is that it will tend to tell you what you want to hear,” he said. Kor explained that users can steer a chat towards the answer they expect.
The World Health Organization says mental health problems affect about 150 million people across Africa. It lists stigma, low awareness and too little investment as barriers to care.
A 2021 study found Nigeria had fewer than 300 psychiatrists for more than 190 million people. Eruchie said she does not want AI to be the main place people get care, only a first step for those with nowhere else to start.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Technology. Image: IOL Technology. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Technology desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Werner Jacobs covers technology for Tzaneen Voice. Werner reports on mobile networks, data prices, internet access, smartphones, apps, AI, cybersecurity and South African tech companies. Each story explains what a new product, price change or policy means for ordinary users in South Africa.