August 22 was the official launch of #VIHINFOgt, a hackathon that aims to use the data and tech revolution to open up information about the healthcare sector in Guatemala.

Hivos, TEC and CES/UVG came together to launch the initiative and promote transparency and access to information on HIV in key populations affected by HIV epidemic. The #VIHINFOgt hackathon gave teams the opportunity to plan, design and build an application around the HIV situation in Guatemala.

With twenty-five participants enrolled, the hackathon brought students from different universities throughout the country, such as San Carlos de Guatemala, Mesoamericana and University of the Guatemala Valley, into contact with private groups working on information and technology in Quetzaltenango and Zaculeu Valley.

Two workshops were held earlier in August to inform people interested in participating about the rules of the contest and make them aware of the situation of key populations affected with VIH.

This initiative is also being supported by the Ministry of Health, the Secretariat of Transparency, and CONASIDA. Other partners supporting the contest include Infile, Intecap and civil society organizations like OMES and Otrans.

The #VIHINFOgt hackathon will end on August 29th, when the winners will be announced.  One of the awards is a three-month contract to further develop and test the new app. You can follow the hackathon through the hashtags: #VIHINFOgt  #Yomeinformo  #Yorespeto