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
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 22 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

Telemedicine - answer to rural India's heath needs

0 comments
Summary

This article examines new technology that will potentially bring medical care to people in need in remote parts of India. Recently, physicians participated in a conference on telemedicine to discuss the possibilities.


Tele-surgery and robotic surgery, these physicians think, can help surgeons in remote areas provide better care. Specifically, a surgeon could consult with colleagues in a larger city such as Chennai during an operation. "The city of Chennai has more cardiologists than the whole of India's northeastern region put together," according to one participant. Delhi-based cardiologist Anil Saxena said tele-cardiology would mean less cost and inconvenience for patients who currently have to travel long distances for treatment. Further, "Speed is of essence in cardiology..." Doctors also say they would like to engage in tele-education through video conferencing and formation of discussion groups. One physician says he holds tele-talks every week to refresh the knowledge of doctors and communities in rural areas.


Both tele-surgery and robotic surgery are in their early phases of development in India (one expert quoted in the article predicts that it will take approximately a decade before the technologies are widely available). However, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already set up 28 centres for tele-conferencing, and is planning another 150 centres over the next year.


According to one senior surgeon, the set-up for operations between two centres using robotic surgery is estimated to cost $1 million. He urged the government to support such endeavours, saying, "You are not just going to conduct a single operation. As you increase the number of operations it will become cost effective".


Click here for the full article online.


Source

Article forwarded to the bytesforall_readers list server on August 28 2003 (click here to access the archives).