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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Economic Support, CSE, and Community Dialogue - Lowered Unprotected Sexual Activity

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Strategy researched
Economic support combined with: (i) community and parent meetings per year on the benefits of girls' education and postponement of early marriage and childbearing; and (ii) youth clubs providing comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for the participants and boys in the same class (combined intervention arm)

Impact achieved
Economic support and the additional CSE and community dialogue were effective in lowering unprotected sexual activity (risk ratio (RR) 0.53 for combined support vs. control; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.37-0.75). The addition of CSE and community dialogue improved contraceptive use among those recently sexually active (RR 1.26; 95% CI 1.06-1.50) and knowledge regarding contraceptives (RR 1.18; 95% CI 1.01-1.38) compared to economic support alone.

Country of study
Zambia

Research methodology
Cluster RCT with 4,922 girls

Journal
Social Science & Medicine; 2022

Journal paper title and link
Effects of economic support, comprehensive sexuality education and community dialogue on sexual behaviour: Findings from a cluster-RCT among adolescent girls in rural Zambia

Excerpt from Abstract
"These findings indicate that economic support in combination with CSE and community dialogue can improve the sexual and reproductive health of adolescent girls."