Closing the Health Equity Gap
We exist to close the gap in reproductive health equity for women and menstruators living with PCOS and uterine fibroids, with a focus on BIPOC and low-income communities.
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What share of women with PCOS wait more than 2 years for a diagnosis?
What inspired the founding of One in Every 10?
Our Mission
One in Every 10 exists to close the gap in reproductive health equity for women and menstruators living with PCOS and uterine fibroids, with a focus on BIPOC and low-income communities. We empower individuals through education, research, wellness programs, and advocacy while driving systemic change in healthcare, policy, and industry standards.
Our Vision
We envision a world where PCOS and fibroid care is equitable, holistic, and accessible to all. A future where BIPOC and low-income communities are no longer left behind in reproductive health, and where equity, dignity, and wellness are the standard for all who menstruate.
Our Core Values
These values guide everything we do and shape how we serve our community.
Equity
We fight for fair and inclusive care for those living with PCOS and uterine fibroids, with a focus on BIPOC and low-income communities.
Compassion
We honor the dignity of every person by listening, supporting, and standing beside them throughout their reproductive health journey.
Holistic Healing
We embrace care that addresses the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—through nutrition, mental health, lifestyle, and community wellness.
Advocacy
We raise our voices to demand research, funding, and policy changes that close the gaps in PCOS and fibroid treatment and representation.
Community
We create safe, supportive spaces where people can connect, heal, and thrive together.
Justice
We push for research and healthcare systems that reflect the realities and voices of those most impacted by PCOS and fibroids.
Why We Exist
One in Every 10 exists to transform how PCOS and uterine fibroid care is understood, delivered, and experienced. These conditions affect millions of people, yet they continue to be underfunded, overlooked, and neglected by traditional medical systems.
The lack of research, equitable treatment, and culturally responsive support leaves many, especially those in BIPOC and low-income communities, without the resources they urgently need.
We exist to make reproductive health a human right and to build a future where every person living with PCOS or fibroids can be seen, heard, and cared for with dignity. Our mission is not only to help people survive, but to empower them to thrive.
The Problems We Address
Delayed Diagnoses and Inadequate Care
BIPOC and low-income patients experience years of delayed diagnoses and often see multiple clinicians before receiving a proper diagnosis.
Source: World Health OrganizationSystemic Bias in Healthcare
Black women are also diagnosed with fibroids about 4 years earlier on average, and are more likely to experience severe symptoms such as anemia.
Source: Catherino et al., Semin Reprod Med 2013Gaps in Research and Funding
NIH funding remains disproportionately low relative to disease burden for many conditions that primarily affect women, including PCOS and fibroids.
Source: NIH RePORTER award dataMenstrual Inequity and Period Poverty
46% of women in that sample had to choose between menstrual products and food, a burden that falls hardest on low-income Black and Latina women.
Source: Kuhlmann et al., Obstet Gynecol 2019Our Community-Centered Approach
We take a justice-driven approach to transforming care for those affected by PCOS and fibroids, especially BIPOC and low-income individuals who are too often excluded from timely, equitable, and compassionate healthcare.
Our Multi-Pronged Strategy Includes:
Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)
We follow the CBPR model, which ensures that people living with PCOS and fibroids are equal partners in shaping our work. From research design to program evaluation, their lived experiences guide every step.
This approach builds trust and promotes shared decision-making. We host listening sessions, peer advisory boards, and culturally relevant surveys to better understand real needs and design solutions that reflect the community's voice.
What Makes Us Different
One in Every 10 stands at the intersection of health equity, wellness, and justice. While many organizations focus solely on awareness, we go further—addressing the root causes of reproductive health disparities and period poverty that disproportionately impact BIPOC and low-income women.
We believe reproductive equity means more than access to care; it means ensuring women have safe products, inclusive research, and policies that protect their health. Unlike traditional initiatives, One in Every 10 blends advocacy with holistic wellness.
Our difference is simple yet powerful: we are not just building awareness—we are building systems of accountability, wellness, and justice so that no woman is left unheard, untreated, or unsafe.
Meet Our Founder
Leading the movement with passion, experience, and lived understanding.
Roxi Thiam
Executive Director & Founder
Health Equity Builder & Educator
Roxi Thiam is the Executive Director and Founder of One in Every 10, a nonprofit advancing health equity for people affected by PCOS and uterine fibroids. She is also the founder of Finesse Life Holistics and The Bougie Garden, two platforms dedicated to holistic nutrition, herbal wellness, and community healing.
A certified holistic nutritionist, clinical herbalist, and author of No Prescription Needed, Roxi blends science, storytelling, and community care to help women reclaim their health. In her own account of her health journey, she describes using holistic lifestyle practices and plant-based nutrition to address her Type 2 diabetes, PCOS, and uterine fibroids and their symptoms, and to release more than 135 pounds in the process.
Drawing on what she describes as more than 16 years of strategic finance and nonprofit accounting leadership, Roxi builds data-driven programs and transparent operations that turn lived experience into systems change.
Our Impact Challenge
Test your knowledge about health equity gaps
Is NIH research funding proportional to how conditions like PCOS and fibroids affect women?
Join Our Movement
Together, we can create a future where reproductive health equity is not just a goal, but a reality for all.
The Unspoken Truth
The devastating reality of reproductive health inequity
What really happens when reproductive health conditions go untreated in BIPOC communities?
Sources & References
Every statistic on this page is drawn from the peer-reviewed literature or federal public health data. Follow any link to read the original source.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome — fact sheetWorld Health Organization • 2025 • PCOS affects an estimated 8–13% of women of reproductive age; up to 70% are undiagnosed worldwide
- Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Pathogenesis and Clinical Manifestations of Uterine LeiomyomaCatherino WH, Eltoukhi HM, Al-Hendy A • Seminars in Reproductive Medicine • 2013 • Fibroid prevalence is roughly three times higher among women of African ancestry
- NIH RePORTER — federally funded research project databaseU.S. National Institutes of Health • 2024 • FY2023 awards: ~$33M across 87 PCOS projects; ~$31M across 47 uterine fibroid projects
- Unmet Menstrual Hygiene Needs Among Low-Income WomenKuhlmann AS, Peters Bergquist E, Danjoint D, Wall LL • Obstetrics & Gynecology • 2019 • In a low-income urban sample, 64% could not afford menstrual products in the past year and 46% had to choose between period products and food
- Delayed diagnosis and a lack of information associated with dissatisfaction in women with polycystic ovary syndromeGibson-Helm M, Teede H, Dunaif A, Dokras A • The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism • 2017 • One-third of respondents waited more than two years and saw three or more clinicians before diagnosis
- Gender Disparity in the Funding of Diseases by the U.S. National Institutes of HealthMirin AA • Journal of Women's Health • 2021 • In nearly three-quarters of cases where a disease affects primarily one gender, NIH funding favors male-predominant conditions relative to disease burden
- Recommendations from the 2023 International Evidence-based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of Polycystic Ovary SyndromeTeede HJ, Tay CT, Laven J, et al. • Fertility and Sterility / Human Reproduction • 2023
- Uterine leiomyomas: racial differences in severity, symptoms and age at diagnosisKjerulff KH, Langenberg P, Seidman JD, Stolley PD, Guzinski GM • The Journal of Reproductive Medicine • 1996 • Mean age at diagnosis 37.5 years for Black women vs 41.6 for white women; anemia in 56% vs 38%