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For our birthday, all we want is to decolonise aid

Piece of cake, right?

On our 6th birthday, Common Thread is more committed than ever to promoting equitable health (and cake) for all.


Last week, we celebrated six years of Common Thread.

We started this company because we wanted to make social and behavioural sciences the norm in global public health, not the exception. Our work has been consistently rooted in principles of community ownership, social justice and equity. And it’s been gratifying to be part of the recent  shifts in public health—towards services that now consider communities, people, and human psychology in their design and delivery.

Today, it’s becoming difficult to ignore the fact that the scaffolding for the delivery of humanitarian assistance is increasingly rickety, held together by centuries of colonialism. And while our projects strive to improve equity, we often ask ourselves, “is that even possible within the current system?”

Putting people at the centre of public health is about more than ensuring public health programmes are  inclusive and empowering. We need to do more than raise community voices and advocate for community ownership. We need to find and support those who can rebuild systems that right power imbalances and better reflect the real needs, culture and uniqueness of the people and places we work with.

We’ve been making small but steady steps to encourage ourselves and our clients to reflect on the meaning behind words like, “human-centred design,” “community participation,” and even, “community.” We want to interrogate whether these trending words go beyond the page, and whether their use is matched with real intent to shift power and resources. 

So, like all six year olds, we ask lots of questions. And like a child who doesn’t want to hear that the sky is blue because of Rayleigh Scattering, we continue to leave room for some magic; some creativity and humour in our work to illustrate facts. After all, play, laughter and optimism are critical parts of a 6 year olds’ life, and  memorable hooks for learning and change.

We hope you enjoy this little cartoon to help illustrate the very big questions we’re asking ourselves and our clients as we enter our 6th year. If it makes you think or smile, please share it to keep the conversation going. 

As we blow out our candles, our wish is that we are never too old, or too jaded, to continue asking difficult questions. And that we continue to have the good fortune to be working with a team, clients and partners willing to challenge and engage with them. 

P.S. Hungry for more? Subscribe to our mailing list to be the first to test your biases with our Decolonisation Quizzes!

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