{"id":2000127750,"date":"2026-10-01T18:00:03","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000127750"},"modified":"2026-10-02T10:21:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T08:21:02","slug":"how-technology-could-expand-mental-health-care-for-young-people-in-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/how-technology-could-expand-mental-health-care-for-young-people-in-rwanda\/","title":{"rendered":"How technology could expand mental health care for young people in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The potential was discussed at the fifth Africa HealthTech Summit in Kigali, where health experts examined how digital tools, data systems and artificial intelligence could strengthen mental health services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda has been expanding mental health support for young people through schools and the wider health system since the launch of its school-based mental health programme in December 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme was initially piloted in five districts and has since expanded. UNICEF said in 2025 that it was operating in 18 districts, with more than 2,500 school counsellors trained across 1,283 secondary and technical schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darius Gishoma, Division Manager for Mental Health at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, said the programme has since expanded further, reaching 23 districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Rwanda plans to extend the programme to another seven districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expansion has also highlighted the need to reach young people beyond schools, where Gishoma sees potential for technology to play a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTechnology can remove a number of barriers,\u201d he noted during a session on building intelligent mental health systems for Africa’s children and young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gishoma pointed to Rwanda’s growing use of electronic medical records as an example of how digital systems could support mental health services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Rwanda, we have eBuzima, which allows us to have individual data at health centres. This means we have the opportunity to use clinical decision-support tools,\u201d he explained, referring to Rwanda\u2019s eBuzima digital health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such tools could provide health workers with alerts where there are indications of serious risks, including suicide, or when a patient stops returning for care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gishoma’s technology examples were not limited to children. He described them as opportunities for strengthening the broader mental health system, including at community level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He cited a recent campaign against illicit substances and alcohol in which community health workers used smartphones to identify people experiencing addiction-related problems in villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo from health facility to community it’s opening plenty of possibilities,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed to the possibility of using mobile electroencephalography devices to send recordings from health centres to neurologists at referral hospitals, allowing specialists to support nurses with diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For young people, he added, technology could create opportunities in settings such as youth centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching young people earlier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aladin Borja, a health specialist at UNICEF’s Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, argued that mental health systems need to reach young people before they arrive at hospitals or clinics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we want to reach young people earlier, mental health systems cannot begin at the clinic or hospital,\u201d Borja stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He proposed that prevention, early intervention and support should be available in places where children and young people already live, learn and communicate, including digital spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people are increasingly using social media and artificial intelligence tools to seek information and discuss issues around their wellbeing, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Borja cautioned that digital access alone does not amount to quality mental health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA campaign, chatbot or helpline is only meaningful if there are trained people, functioning referral pathways and quality services behind it,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTechnology should strengthen public systems, not substitute for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designing tools for African users<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joyce Nakatumba Nabende, a senior lecturer at Makerere University and head of its Artificial Intelligence Lab, stressed that mental health technology also needs to reflect the language and circumstances of African users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She cautioned against simply importing tools developed for Western populations without testing whether they work for African children and young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe take tools that are designed for Western populations and bring them into our populations, but they will not work here,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nabende identified language as another challenge, noting that young people may prefer to communicate in local languages while many existing digital tools have limited support for African languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also emphasised the need for safeguards when developing AI tools for children, including testing, data security and controlled access to sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evelyne Munezero, a youth advocate with UNICEF-YAN, called for young people to be involved in designing systems intended for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should be building systems with young people, not for them,\u201d she urged, calling for stronger attention to consent, safeguarding and data protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Darius Gishoma (right), Division Manager for Mental Health at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), speaks during a panel discussion, where health experts examined how digital tools, data systems and artificial intelligence could strengthen mental health services.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Gishoma pointed to Rwanda’s growing use of electronic medical records as an example of how digital systems could support mental health services.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Aladin Borja, a health specialist at UNICEF’s Centre of Excellence in Nairobi, argued that mental health systems need to reach young people before they arrive at hospitals or clinics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Evelyne Munezero, a youth advocate with UNICEF-YAN, called for young people to be involved in designing systems intended for them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Technology could open new ways for Rwanda to expand mental health support for children and young people as the country looks beyond hospitals and schools to reach those who need care in their communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000127766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000127750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000127766,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1000,"height":666,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","width":1000,"height":666},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/10\/postQueueImg_1677765255.17.jpg","width":1000,"height":666}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000127750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000127750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000127750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000127767,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000127750\/revisions\/2000127767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000127766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000127750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000127750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000127750"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000127750"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000127750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}