The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. 

Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future. 

On the transfer, co-founder Victoria Martin expressed her pleasure to see this work continue under Wits' leadership, knowing that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction. 

As Wits, we honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades and look forward building from that strong base. This includes co-founders Warren Feek (1953-2024) and Victoria Martin as well as La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA), which continues independently at lainiciativadecomunicacion.com with links to The CI Global site. We are also eager to forge new partnerships and entertain new ideas as we consider how best to contribute to social and behaviour change in our rapidly evolving environment.

If you are joining the International Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) Summit in Panama, please join Wits and CILA on Monday, 22 June, to share your thoughts and suggestion for the relaunch of the Communication Initiative. We will be in Pacifica 5 from 12-1:25 for the Refuel, Reflect, and Renew Lunch Series: The Communication Initiative: celebrating a driving force for Communication for Social Change and the way forward. We will reflect on the legacy of Warren Feek and family in creating the Communication Initiative, consider the contributions of CI over the years and then turn our attention towards the future in this dynamic session. 

If you are unable to join us in Panama, we still want to hear from you. Please contribute your thoughts by following this link: https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026 or reaching out to ci_surveys@commint.com. 

You can also follow the QR Code:

 https://redcap.link/CommunicationInitiative2026

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Multisector Action to Enable Social and Behaviour Change for the Elimination of Schistosomiasis, a Water-borne Neglected Tropical Disease

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Abstract for Preformed Panel Presentation from the 2022 International SBCC Summit in Morocco:

"Schistosomiasis is a water-borne, neglected tropical disease (NTD), affecting over 200 million people worldwide, causing cognitive impairment and stunting in children, inflammation and organ damage and, if untreated, infertility, liver fibrosis and bladder cancer. People are infected during routine domestic, occupational, and recreational activities, which expose them to infested water. It is linked to lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), involving multiple sectors. The World Health Organization (WHO) roadmap for NTDs 2021-2030 set the target of schistosomiasis elimination as a public health problem by 2030 and interruption of transmission in certain settings. It emphasizes the need for multisectoral planning and coordination across Health, WASH, Education, Agriculture and other sectors and for community engagement and behaviour change to achieve the roadmap 2030 goals. Large-scale treatment interventions for at-risk populations are the cornerstone of efforts to prevent schistosomiasis morbidity. This approach is proven to control schistosomiasis and reduce the prevalence of infections but has not led to elimination. Behaviour change is recognized as a critical component for schistosomiasis elimination, yet it remains under-resourced, and under-implemented. Scale-up of multisectoral coordination mechanisms, bringing together health, education, community engagement, WASH and environmental measures, is crucial to address structural barriers and enable behaviour change. In this panel we will present case studies from Ethiopia, Zanzibar and Uganda and discuss approaches and learnings to implementing multisectoral coordination and community engagement to create an enabling environment for effective behaviour change, within and across communities, for sustainable disease elimination."

Source

Approved abstract for the 2022 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. From SBCC Summit documentation. Image credit: Global Schistosomiasis Alliance