FG urges responsible use of AI in mental healthcare

Participants at the event.

The Federal Government has urged healthcare stakeholders to ensure the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in mental healthcare, stressing the need to protect human dignity and improve access to professional services.

The call was made at the launch of the GENSCORE Project, held at the CBN Hall, Faculty of Economics, University of Ibadan.

The project explores the use of AI and African languages to improve mental health screening and promote culturally responsive care.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the project is being implemented by the Slum and Rural Health Initiative in collaboration with Imperial College London, the University of Ibadan and the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.

Representing the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, the Director of Nursing and Head of the Coordinating Unit of the National Mental Health Programme, Mrs Grace Ogunleye, urged stakeholders to deploy technology in ways that promote human dignity and expand access to professional care.

“Technology must support human dignity and improve access to professional care. The true value of AI lies in identifying and supporting people who need mental health care,” she said.

The Executive Director of SRHIN, Dr Isaac Olufadewa, urged developers to ensure that AI systems reflect the cultural realities and experiences of African communities.

“We don’t want Africa to be an afterthought in the AI system. The future is not African intelligence versus artificial intelligence. But the future is artificial intelligence with African intelligence,” he said.

The Country Coordinator of SRHIN in Nigeria and Chair of its Lived Experience Working Group, Miracle Adesina, called for the meaningful involvement of people with lived experience in developing and implementing the project.

“We want their involvement to mean something they can point to. That they can look at the work and say, ‘We raised that issue. We explained why it mattered. And something changed,’” Adesina said.

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The Medical Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr Olugbenga Owoeye, said AI could improve access to mental health screening, particularly in communities with limited access to mental health professionals.

However, he cautioned that the technology should complement rather than replace human interaction in mental healthcare.

“AI cannot replace therapeutic relationships between a service provider and a client,” he said.

Owoeye said the project’s focus on Yoruba, Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin was important to making AI-supported screening relevant to local communities.

“For AI-supported screening to make meaningful contributions, it must connect to the people in their cultural contexts,” he added.

Similarly, Professor Ayodele Jegede of the University of Ibadan called for AI development and applications to be grounded in local realities.

In her keynote address, Mrs Hasana Baraya of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency said AI-supported tools could strengthen the capacity of frontline health workers.

She said, “Tools could provide digital job aids within the scope of primary healthcare workers’ practice, transform raw data into actionable insights, support evidence-based planning and improve coordination across the healthcare system.”

Baraya urged stakeholders to adopt a strategic approach to implementation by selecting pilot locations based on available resources and prioritising users’ data protection.