Esther Eruchi uses an application on her phone, switching between mood tracking tools, mental health resources, and chats. She navigates the platform she created, recalling a time when she herself needed similar support. Today, she often wonders how her life might have changed if such a resource had been available back then.
Through OurPadi, an AI-powered platform that connects users with digital tools and live therapists, Eruchi was able to create the support she once dreamed of.
Eruchi's brother died at around the age of twenty. Being autistic and non-verbal, his death had a profound impact on Eruchi's mother, who was later diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Eruchi shared that her father initially refused to view mental illness as a medical diagnosis, leading her mother to seek help at the church and prayer houses.
Eruchi's mother passed away three months after her son; she lost consciousness on the way home after one of the prayer sessions. Eruchi notes: 'I think my journey to mental health wasn't just something trendy. It was essentially lived hardships, being among people who went through hell and back.'
This experience influenced Eruchi's perspective on gaps in psychiatric care. Years later, while working on human trafficking cases in Libya, Cameroon, and Nigeria, she encountered individuals suffering from trauma and migration issues. Although organizations provided psychosocial support at the community level, finding individual help was generally more difficult. Later, she herself experienced mental health struggles, including depression and suicidal thoughts, and was diagnosed with ADHD.
AI should not replace professional help
According to a 2021 mental health analysis in Nigeria, the country had fewer than 300 psychiatrists for a population exceeding 190 million, highlighting the need for specialized psychiatric care. For Eruchi, the problem was not only the shortage of specialists; she also saw the necessity for people to receive help earlier, before their problems became too severe.
This realization led to the creation of FriendnPal in 2023—a mental health firm based on the concept of proximity and increasing accessibility of care. Its digital platform, OurPadi, allows users to chat with an AI chatbot while simultaneously providing access to live therapists.
Eruchi explains: 'When you hear the word 'Our Padi' or 'Friend and Pal,' it means the same thing. My friend means my buddy. My buddy means my friend.'
Nevertheless, mental health professionals caution against using technology for self-diagnosis or treatment of mental disorders. According to Fidelis Cora, a therapist and psychologist, AI can help people cope with temporary stress, but it should not replace qualified help. Cora warns: 'If it's something that happens occasionally, and you've tried talking to your friends, family, you are using AI, and the situation persists, then you need to talk to someone who is qualified to do so.'
Cora also pointed out a less obvious limitation: AI can be influenced by how the user frames the conversation. He noted: 'A big risk is that it will be inclined to tell you what you want to hear.' He explained that a user can steer the conversation with the AI toward an expected answer, potentially creating an echo chamber that reinforces existing beliefs rather than challenging them. This concern is particularly relevant today as more people rely on digital technologies for support in areas where traditional mental health services are hard to access.
Mental health issues affect 150 million people in Africa
Governments across Africa are taking steps to integrate psychiatric care into broader healthcare systems. For instance, in Ghana, mental illness treatment is integrated into the National Health Insurance Scheme, with attempts to include conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis in the benefits package. Maternal mental health issues are also attracting increasing attention. In 2026, the UK is implementing a national maternal mental health policy aimed at integrating mental health support into obstetric and pediatric care.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health issues affect approximately 150 million people in Africa. In some communities, people may first turn to religious or traditional practices for help rather than official medical services. This reflects both cultural beliefs and the limited availability and cost of professional care. The WHO has identified stigma, low awareness, and insufficient investment as persistent barriers to seeking help.
According to Eruchi, this gap influenced how FriendnPal was built. Instead of focusing solely on diagnosis, the platform aims to help people manage pressure and seek help earlier. She states: 'We are mainly focused on mental health triggers and stressors, not on diagnosing mental health problems.'
OurPadi is based on an AI chatbot named Pal or Padi, with which users can interact via text or voice. The platform also includes mood tracking, journaling, calming sounds, online forums, and direct connection with real therapists. The AI analyzes chats for signs that a user may need additional help, defining the approach as a 'human-involved escalation system' that uses screening tools like PHQ-9 and WHO-5 to identify potential danger.
An entry point for those without a starting point
Eruchi emphasizes: 'We are not completely replacing the work done by human therapists, but we are supplementing the work they do.'
For Blessing Matthew, an OurPadi user, the appeal was not so much the technology as the existence of a space where she could communicate when it felt unsafe to approach others. Matthew faced issues related to her business, relationships, and mental health. She worried that her friends and family might criticize or not understand her perspective. She discovered OurPadi while browsing the Google Play Store for therapeutic apps and started using its AI chatbot. She shares: 'I was able to interact with it. And it gave me what I really needed. I got some ideas, some answers that I needed, and it helped me feel relieved.'
She noted the importance of having the option to start a conversation without immediately revealing oneself to another person. 'No judgment, no reprimand. Just like talking to a regular person.'
The platform also strives to overcome language barriers. Eruchi asserts that it operates in over 50 languages, including Yoruba, Swahili, and Zulu. Currently, OurPadi has over 34,000 users and has more than 67 live therapists in its network. Users are spreading beyond Nigeria into South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ghana, and parts of Europe.
However, Eruchi does not intend for AI to be the primary focus of psychiatric care. Her goal is to provide an additional entry point for people who otherwise would not have the opportunity to start. 'My goal is to create a system that feels like home.'
As African countries strive to increase the volume of psychiatric care, technology can offer an additional way to connect with people between regular consultations or before a crisis hits. For Eruchi, this distinction is crucial to the model she is developing: using technology to enhance the accessibility of care while maintaining human involvement in the system.