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In recent times, Nigeria has witnessed a significant rise in mental health disorders. In 2017, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that about 50 million Nigerians, roughly a quarter of the population, suffer from mental health disorders.

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Nguvu Health, an on-demand online therapy platform, has emerged to alleviate this problem and make therapy sessions affordable and accessible to Nigerians. Founded by Joshua Koya (CEO) and Tolulope Ogunjuyigbe, the startup currently has over 26 therapists on board and recruitment for 50 more is underway. The founders hope to have onboarded 1000 therapists by the end of 2021.

How Nguvu Health Works

Nguvu Health has an app that can be downloaded on both the android and iOS Play Stores. Users have to complete a registration process and short assessment before they get linked to therapists on the platform.

Being a service for and by Africans, Nguvu has 26 therapists on the platform mostly from Nigeria and Kenya. The platform conducts a rigorous vetting process before recruiting more therapists to its team.

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The therapist sessions on the service can be conducted in two ways: in-app messaging otherwise called text therapy and video call called video therapy. Nguvu charges a subscription fee of $10 for a week-long session of text therapy or 45 minutes of video therapy. It also offers monthly and quarterly subscriptions To protect patients from the stigmatisation that often comes with mental health disorders, the app has several features that ensure patients enjoy privacy. According to the CEO,

‘Users can not take screenshots of any part of the android app. This is to curb the ‘screenshot’ rave. Also, there’s a phone security lock required to access the app each time you want to use it. Also, as part of our onboarding process, our therapists sign an NDA to cater for the security of clients’ information and sessions’

Joshua Koya

Getting The App

Nguvu Health is compatible with both Android and iOS. Click the links below to download the app. play.google.com/store/apps/ apps.apple.com/gb/app/ Featured Image Source:

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