By Kat Lay
Publication Date: 2026-01-05 12:00:00
When patients call Butabika Hospital in Kampala, Uganda seeking help with mental health issues, they themselves are helping future patients by helping to create a therapy chatbot.
Calls to the clinic’s helpline are being used to train an AI algorithm that researchers hope will eventually power a chatbot that offers therapies in local African languages.
One in 10 people in Africa struggle with mental health problems, but the continent has a significant shortage of mental health professionals and stigma is a major barrier to care in many places. AI could help solve these problems wherever resources are scarce, experts say.
Prof. Joyce Nakatumba-Nabende is the scientific director of the Makerere AI Lab at Makerere University. Her team works with Butabika Hospital and Mirembe Hospital in Dodoma in neighboring Tanzania.
Some callers just need factual information about…
