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

Time to read
less than
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 24 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

Impact Data - National Education Campaign about Ulcers

0 comments
Knowledge Shifts
In follow-up focus groups with physicians, most became more aware recently of H. pylori, and several had seen CDC's materials.
Practices
Participants in the consumer follow-up focus groups said that they were motivated to see their doctor.
Increased Discussion of Development Issues
Several doctors in the physician follow-up focus groups reported that their patients were asking about H. pylori.
Access
More than 209 million consumers heard the message that ulcer disease is caused by a curable infection through public service announcements (PSAs) and news media coverage in English and Spanish. More than 16,000 people called the toll-free line for more information, and there were 42,000 hits to the website. Follow-up studies with ulcer suffers indicated that the strategy was on target, and that the message was clear and motivational.

More than 780,000 physicians and other health professionals received informational mailings about H. pylori, its link to ulcer disease, and how it can be successfully diagnosed and treated. Health care providers requested more than 2.8 million brochures, posters, and fact sheets.

Additional Centers for Disease Control (CDC) information was being sent to pharmacists by the American Pharmaceutical Association and National Association of Chain Drug Stores to expand awareness among pharmacists, a key information channel for patients.
Source
Social Marketing Institute site.