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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National Center for Health Marketing's Global Communication and Marketing Team

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The Global Communication & Marketing Team (GCM) is a team within the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Marketing. GCM envisions a world where all people actively use accessible, accurate, relevant, and timely health information and interventions to protect and promote their health and the health of their families and communities. Their mission is to protect and promote global public health by collaborating with international partners to integrate customer-centred, science-based health marketing strategies into health communication and education programmes.

GCM supports countries in assessing their health communications capacity and in planning projects and systems that are effective in the local context; collaborates with partners to develop communication and marketing strategies for public health interventions; researches innovative uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs), with a focus on mobile technology capacities, to support global public health interventions; develops methods for transitioning health messages and health communication and marketing methodologies to global contexts; and provides technical assistance in scaling up emergency communication capacity.
Communication Strategies

The Global Communication & Marketing Team's activities focus on health communication and marketing strategies, eHealth, and emergency and risk communication. Sample projects include:

 

Health Communication & Marketing Strategies

  • Conduct KAB [knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour] survey and test messages and materials in support of a rabies prevention and control communication campaign (China)
  • Implement targeted communication of hospital infection control guidelines (Kenya)
  • Develop a communication and marketing strategy for micronutrient food fortification to improve maternal and child health (Central America)

 

eHealth

  • Pilot the use of new ICT networks for health communication in rural settings (Kenya)
  • Support use of ICT for training and communication with the public health workforce (HIV/AIDS monitoring and evaluation (M&E) - China, Laboratory Biosafety - Central America, Hospital Infection Control - Kenya)
  • Collaborate with partners to test mobile communication technology methods to support Directly Observed Therapy of tuberculosis (TB) patients (Kenya)
  • Pilot use of mobile short message service (SMS) technology to support blood donor outreach (Kenya)

 

Emergency and Risk Communication

  • Assess emergency communication system capacity (multiple countries)
  • Develop and implement exercises to test risk communication plans (Central America)
  • Test US-based emergency risk communication principles for cultural appropriateness (China)
  • Conduct emergency risk communication training and planning workshops (Kenya, Nigeria)
  • Conduct survey of health communication needs of earthquake survivors (China)
Sources

Global Communication and Marketing Team website.

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