Moving towards free, inclusive, safe, and accessible services for girls, with girls. — There are certain things girls would rather not talk about with their parents — crushes, periods, sex, financial troubles, emotional turmoil. It’s often easier with friends, but there is only so much a 15-year-old girl can do to support her friend through an abusive relationship, an unplanned pregnancy, or debilitating…

How wayfinding can help the vaccine opportunistic — By UNICEF Ghana and Common Thread KUMASI, GHANA — With COVID-19 vaccine becoming increasingly available, Ghana has shifted its focus from vaccine procurement to vaccine uptake. As of February 25, 2022, less than 16% of Ghana’s population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19. …

Lessons learned in preparing for and responding to health worker hesitancy — Healthcare workers are critical for COVID-19 vaccine rollout. They are the backbone of routine immunisation services and highly influence whether a person will vaccinate or not. But the voices that carry the most weight are not automatically the biggest advocates. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has shone a spotlight on mistrust…

Today is Earth Day. Compared to other calendar markers, Earth Day feels relatively untouched by the pandemic. It’s a day typically celebrated outdoors, in our minds and hearts, through our deeds and donations. …

5 Ways to overcome Covid vaccine hesitancy — By Sherine Guirguis, Co-Director of Common Thread Common Thread puts people at the centre of Public Health. Find us at: gocommonthread.com “I’m pretty sure I had Covid last October. I never get sick, and this was bad. I couldn’t go to work for 3 days. I don’t need the vaccine…

How could public health use social media more effectively — from adapting scientific messages to ‘flatten the Covid-19 curve’, to using trusted stories to change behaviour and #StayHomeSaveLives? By Mike Coleman, Co-Director of Common Thread: Putting people at the centre of public health. We reached out to NYU’s Vice Provost of Educational Technologies, and distinguished internet and social media theorist Clay Shirky to ask him…

How we designed a virtual human centred design workshop: Four things we learned. Like everyone on the planet, we were left reeling at how quickly the world changed. For Common Thread it really hit us in mid-March. …

Watching the Covid-19 pandemic unfold has turned all of us into recipients of the very things Common Thread usually advise others about: public health policy, outbreak response, risk communication, and behavioural strategies. Covid-19 has democratised disease — and people — perhaps more than any other experience in our lifetimes. By Mike Coleman and Sherine Guirguis, Co-Directors of Common Thread: Putting people at the centre of public health.

As the world’s attention turns to the threat of the Coronavirus, we revisit our discussion on whether the world is prepared for the next global disease outbreak. The consensus seems to be we’re due a big epidemic — the kind that would fundamentally disrupt life as we know it. A…