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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Sexual and Reproductive Health for HIV-Positive Women and Adolescent Girls

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Subtitle
A Manual for Trainers and Programme Managers
This 239-page manual is designed to provide information and structure for a four-day training and a two-day planning workshop that will enable programme managers and health workers in resource-constrained settings to offer comprehensive, non-judgemental, and quality care and support to HIV-positive women and adolescent girls in the local context. The manual also urges male involvement and promotes a holistic approach to integrated sexual and reproductive health (SRH) counselling and programme planning that links SRH and HIV/AIDS services.

This manual was field-tested with SRH and HIV/AIDS programme managers and health workers in Brazil, Ethiopia, and the Ukraine and the feedback from the field-tests was incorporated into the final version. It is divided into nineteen sessions, each covered in a format which states objectives, duration of session, materials, advanced preparation, key ideas to convey, and training steps. The activities are participant-centered and include brainstorming, discussion, role plays with prepared scenarios, and small group activities.

Session topics are:
  • Overview
  • Basic HIV and AIDS information
  • Exploring beliefs, values and attitudes about HIV and AIDS
  • Basic counselling skills and approaches
  • Sexual and reproductive health vulnerability of HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Addressing HIV and AIDS stigma and discrimination in the healthcare setting
  • Sexual and reproductive rights of HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Supporting clients' informed and voluntary decision-making
  • Ethical Issues in counselling
  • Providing Psychosocial Support for a positive diagnosis HIV disclosure
  • Addressing sexuality with HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Improving a client's perception of risk
  • Adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS
  • Counselling HIV positive adolescent girls on sexual and reproductive health
  • Comprehensive SRH Care of HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Family Planning needs of HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Integrated SRH counselling for HIV-positive women and adolescent girls
  • Closing session

Appendices contain complete course support materials including handouts, questionnaires, informational quizzes, etc.

This resource is available in 5 languages in CD-ROM or downloadable PDF format, or in hard copy format in English.

Publishers

Languages

English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Number of Pages

239

Source

International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (IWC) website; EngenderHealth website; and email from EngenderHealth to The Communication Initiative on August 23 2007.

PDFLink
Click here for access to the PDFs of this manual or to order the CD-ROM or hard…