Themba Anesu (not her real name), a 25-year-old journalist from Zimbabwe, has long suffered from depression after an illness forced her to have her uterus removed, and she turns to artificial intelligence (AI) for comfort and psychological support. She is a young woman who knows she won’t be able to get pregnant and takes it very hard when people ask her questions about motherhood.
“At one point I thought about committing suicide, but the AI helped me. Early in the morning it showed me motivational quotes without having to ask for them. They calmed me down and I went to them whenever I had bad moments,” he explains.
The WHO warns that around 150 million people in Africa suffer from some mental health problem, up from 53 million in 1990. But on the continent there is one psychiatrist for every 500,000 inhabitants, 100 times fewer than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The international organization also estimates that suicide affects 11.5 people per 100,000 in Africa, a figure higher than the global average (9 per 100,000 people), partly due to the paucity of measures to address and prevent risk factors, including mental illnesses. WHO and UNICEF highlight that children and young people are particularly vulnerable and that Africa is a continent where 70% of the population is under 30 years old.
“The first time I saw a psychologist in person was at an event organized by an international NGO. Usually not even our schools have a department or a professional dedicated to guidance and counseling. Then I turned to the AI, which is there and does not judge”, summarizes Anesu. “AI is not a drug that allows me a short escape, nor is it a temporary solution. I feel that, with time and not much, I will recover permanently,” he says.
It’s not easy to find therapists and counselors where I live and I also find it easier to use AI
Edem Rejoice, Nigerian student
There is a lack of therapists
This newspaper spoke to a dozen young Africans who turn to artificial intelligence for psychological support, comfort and strength in times of stress, such as exams. Their stories vary, but they all emphasize that they can speak without fear of being judged and that it is a convenient technology where they can preserve anonymity.
Edem Rejoice (not her real name), a 19-year-old Nigerian student and baker, also turns to AI whenever she feels sad and lonely. “It gives me confidence. I feel like it’s a comfortable space to say everything I think. Unlike people, it doesn’t judge me and it’s a very comfortable space to express myself in private,” she explains.
Artificial intelligence has also significantly changed your student life. “For example, during exam time, it helps me organize my schedule and manage stress, which improves my concentration and mental well-being,” explains Rejoice. If this technology is used, it is, in part, due to the lack of alternatives. “It’s not easy to find therapists and counselors where I live and I also find it easier to use artificial intelligence.”
A survey conducted in 2024 by the company KnowBe4 on a sample of 1,300 people in South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, concluded that a significant number of people in Africa and the Middle East regularly use generative AI. Specifically, 26% of those interviewed use it daily, 42% several times a week and 25% occasionally.
According to the Nigerian doctor Adebowale Jesutofunmi, an expert in the mental health of children and young people, artificial intelligence has become an “antidote to loneliness” for many people, although it does not have the empathy of humans and cannot think or understand and, therefore, does not offer definitive solutions. According to the expert, this tool can cause the opposite effect to the desired one and isolate even more if it replaces human contact and personal relationships.
“The risks are seen much more clearly in emergency situations. When someone has suicidal thoughts, panic attacks or delusions, their life can be in danger. At such moments, artificial intelligence cannot intervene to help them immediately. Furthermore, in these cases, artificial intelligence can even help a teenager carry out his suicidal plans,” he estimates in an interview with this newspaper.
For Ayo Adelu (not her real name), a 23-year-old Nigerian student, “AI may not provide all the solutions, but it is always ready to respond quickly.”
“It helps me have fewer suicidal thoughts. If I explain how I feel, it tells me why I might feel this way and suggests solutions. But the truth is, it’s better to talk to someone who truly understands you and is aware of you. The AI won’t ask you how you are,” he clarifies.
The young woman insists that it is important not to be completely dependent on this technology. “Even when I chat with the AI, I combine what I think with the ideas it gives me before making any decisions. The truth is, it hasn’t changed my life at all.”
The first time I saw a psychologist in person was at an event organized by an international NGO. Not even our schools, almost never, have a department or a professional figure dedicated to guidance and consultancy. So I turned to the AI that is there and doesn’t judge
Themba Anesu, Zimbabwean journalist
Western prejudice
Dr Jesutofunmi admits that many young people are turning to AI because of the stigma surrounding mental health in many parts of Africa, and also the financial cost of the therapy. “Therapy requires follow-up, through calls or visits. AI lacks initiative to provide the ongoing care essential for recovery,” he adds.
“In mental health, the patient’s psychological and social context is very important, and chatbots designed in the West usually do not take into account many local nuances that are essential in Africa. Therefore, the AI’s assessment and reactions may be insufficient,” explains Jesutofunmi.
Anesu, the young Zimbabwean journalist, admits that she sometimes has to explain her problems in great detail because “AI tools are created in a Western context, for other circumstances, ways of life and cultures.”
According to data released in conjunction with South Africa’s G20 presidency, only 0.02% of internet content is available in African languages, limiting the development of AI models that can meet the continent’s linguistic and cultural needs.
For Abdulrahmon Habibat, a Nigerian mental health counselor, in many cases cultural beliefs aggravate mental illnesses. The expert explains that, for example, if a new mother suffers from postpartum stress and depression, she often hears: “This is happening to you because you have never experienced it before”, “don’t worry, you will get over it” and other common phrases that will influence the woman in how she cares for her baby and that unresolved trauma can accompany the child into adulthood.
For this reason, Habibat believes that one of the solutions to reduce stigma, isolation and the use of AI when there is emotional distress, would be to stimulate vocations so that young people become interested in mental health and consider it as a possible profession and urge educational centers to activate psychological orientation units. “If institutions that train young people aren’t interested in mental health, why should young people see it as something important?” he asks.
