RELATE

There are over 25 million people living with HIV in Africa and over 10 million of them identify as LGBTQ+ people. Non-adherence to the ARV is at 50-70%. for the LGBTQ community, accessing healthcare after being diagnosed can be acute, because they are often marginalized and discriminated against. 10 out of 15 people diagnosed with HIV in the LGBTQ+ community are likely to stop taking their medications after 3 months because they feel that they won't be loved properly, and the constant dehumanization and drug illiteracy contribute to Non-adherence. LGBTQ+ people are more likely to develop resistance to ARVs and have the virus progress. Health facilities that provide care, only care about getting the medication to them because they have a lot of cases to deal with. 

 despite all the improvements made in the HIV space, non-adherence continues to rise because adherence to medication is hard, and it takes a lot of mental, emotional and constant support to surmount this problem. 

we are building an ecosystem to provide convenience,  access, support, last-mile care and a robust community where they can connect, build friendships, find support, learn from one another and live mindfully. we believe that no one living with HIV should ever be alone. we are building an app that 

1) Helps in adherence- this app tracks the time they are supposed to take their medications. sets an alarm off when its time, gives a reward after every month of proper adherence 

2) Helps health facilities monitor patients: By taking away the red tape in care administrations. health facilities can see in real-time how long each patient has been on their medication, their level of adherence and the periods they missed their medication 

3) Helps build community: people in our ecosystem can ask questions and receive anecdotal responses, they can also connect with one another and enter into "Adherence competitions" to see the best person adhering in their region. 

4) discretion and distribution: people who do not want to be seen physically at those facilities can use our app to get discrete deliveries to their doorstep. 

5) content pipeline: demystifying adherence problem means opening a conversation to it. by creating media materials and content that humanize, uplift and empower. 

our goal is to motivate, reduce shame and be accountability partners to make sure that people feel comfortable adhering to their medication.  

our solution serves the population of people living with HIV, but primarily we are more focused on serving people living with HIV in the LGBTQ+ community because these people are dehumanized, and marginalized and can develop anxiety about receiving care. they are mostly likely the demographic to stop taking medications after the first 3 months of diagnosis because they do not have accountability partners, a community and people that can listen and understand without judgement.  there is a radical notion that an LGBTQ+ person will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime because of sexual "promiscuity" reckoned with LGBTQ+ people, especially in Africa. The shame of being diagnosed makes them reject care. our solution is challenging the narrative by building an ecosystem that humanizes, empowers and uplifts their spirits by using a range of tools; from social media campaigns and content to one-one mentoring sessions to safe space conversations. 

we are best suited to deliver this solution because we believe that no one can properly tackle a problem they haven't personally related with. most people on our team have lived experiences and have experienced first-hand the discrimination of being queer and HIV positive. most of them are also HIV-positive and have taken it upon themselves to improve and demystify discourse on HIV. we know the landscape, we know the pain points and routes and we are also deeply rooted in the community and can craft authentic messaging. because it is anecdotal to us, we will stop at nothing until non-adherence becomes non-existent in HIV programming. 

we have validated the idea, we have identified facilities and signed them up to our waiting list. we have also started running our side programs and events that will lead to the grand launch. we have collected and collated data from different people in different regions. we have tested the idea, and we have gotten on onboard and the only constraint is funding to build out the initial product. 

we currently serve over 2,000 people. 

Building solutions for marginalized communities (especially LGBTQ+)  in Africa, can be very daunting. your chances of getting funding are almost impossible and only a dream. However applying to the SOLVE, helps us understand that we are not alone in this fight for equity among people in the LGBTQ+ community in Africa. SOLVE is sending a message that innovation is non-binary everywhere and that people from marginalized communities can build something that will serve the world. we are applying to SOLVE because we want to join the community of altruistic and innovative changemakers, to set our eyes to the stars, to be inspired and so in time we can also say "we came, we saw, we conquered"