Sex is a controversial topic in Nigeria which people don’t really like to talk about, it is very easy to see how little sex education most of us got while growing up in Nigeria. We always pretend as if people are not having sex but people do have sex regularly.
Unfortunately, this scenario creates a stigma around sex and sexual health in particular. Because of this, people are not free coming out if they need sexual health service or product.
Slide safe is an online platform that sells and delivers sexual health products to people on-demand, it was founded by Florida Uzoaru, a Master’s degree holder in Public Health Policy, who also has worked with NGOs, DFID and USAID funded projects.
SlideSafe is a public health platform that helps to get more people educated about their sexual safety without the fear of been stigmatized. Slidesafe aims to increase the use of contraceptives and also to get more people to screen themselves for sexually transmitted infections (STI).
According to the Uzoaru, “We also provide our services in a shame -free and judgement- free environment. So, what we are basically trying to do is to get people to become more conscious of their sexual safety by, having an open and honest conversation about sex and safety and as well as providing them with sexual health products in a way that protects their privacy and doesn’t stigmatize them.”
The products that are listed for sale on the platform includes self -testing kits for HIV, Hepatitis B and Syphilis. They also provide condoms, emergency contraceptives and lubricants condoms.
Users can visit the website, select the SlideSafe pack they want and make an order. Users have the option of door delivery or self pick-up. After making an order, Slidesafe gets in touch with the users through WhatsApp, to confirm their order and find out when they are available to get counselling.
The most interesting things about Slidesafe is, you have the opportunity to buy your self-testing kits on their platform, conduct the tests (HIV) yourself. You do not have to go to a crowded health care center and wait on long queues before you get attended to.
“when we communicate with users on WhatsApp, we advise users not to test themselves when they receive their order, until they have spoken with us and we’ve walked them through on how to use the product. We’ve found that when we walk them through what to do and how to do it, there is a much lower chance of error. After the test, users can choose to have their result emailed to them, so they can have physical evidence of it in case an STI status is requested anywhere.”
Slidesafe does post-test counseling, to explain the what’s next to do. If a user tested negative, they give tips on how to stay negative. If the user tested positive, they refer them to treatment and support group.