AI platforms offering first-line mental health support have proliferated over the past year, with early trials in the US showing mixed results. In Nigeria, where AI has been embraced in many sectors and industries, a growing number of people turn to chatbots for virtual therapy.
Nigeria’s health system, including its mental health provision, has long been underfunded. Between 2015 and 2025, Nigeria has consistently spent less than 5% of its budget to healthcare, with 4.2% allocated for 2026, far less than the 15% target that African Union member states agreed to as part of the 2001 Abuja Declaration. It is not known how many people in Nigeria live with mental health conditions but, with only 262 psychiatrists in a country of 240 million people, most do not get adequate treatment.
Private healthcare is expensive; one therapy session can cost between 50,000 naira (£27) – the equivalent of a week’s worth of groceries. Cultural stigma remains strong; many Nigerians still associate mental illness with spiritual weakness or witchcraft.
Commercial and nonprofit AI initiatives are starting to fill this vacuum. HerSafeSpace is an organisation that offers free and instant legal and emotional assistance to victims of technology-facilitated gender-based violence in five west and central African countries. Its Chat Kemi service is available in local and international languages.
“These services don’t replace therapy,” says its founder, Abideen Olasupo. Instead, the chatbot uses a referral system to direct users and specific cases to mental health, legal or psychosocial professionals or organisations, should the need arise.
“Our major objective is to support young girls, who are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence, especially online,” he says.
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The technology used by these apps follows scripts written by licensed Nigerian psychologists and therapists who deliver care to users.
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