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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Biiftuu Jireenyaa and Jember Radio Programmes

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Launched by BBC Media Action in 2013, Biiftuu Jireenyaa, which means "Dawn of Life" in Afan Oromo, and Jember, which means "maternal light" in Amharic, are radio programmes designed to improve reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) in Ethiopia. The radio programmes deliver a series of lessons focused on maternal and neonatal health. Designed to reflect the varied preoccupations and experiences of the listeners themselves, they also tackle such topics as the demands of making a living in rural areas or the challenges of relationships. Presented by a male and female presenter team, both programmes use interviews, discussion, and fly-on-the-wall encounters between health workers and women. The programmes are funded by the United Kingdom (UK)'s Department for International Development (DFID).

Communication Strategies

Biiftuu Jireenyaa is a 30-minute radio programme broadcast on Friday evenings on Oromia Radio at 9:10 p.m. with a Sunday morning repeat, and Jember is broadcast on Sunday afternoons and repeated on Wednesday morning. Both programmes feature similar health themes, but careful attention is paid to regional differences in their audiences. In addition to interviews recorded in people's homes and in the field, the show features 'fly-on-the-wall' recordings – of, for example, what really happens behind a clinic door when a woman goes for an antenatal check-up. Music, proverbs, and poetry are also interwoven to reflect Ethiopians' strong tradition of storytelling. The programmes are recorded on location by local producers in Afan Oromo and Amharic, Ethiopian languages spoken by more than two-thirds of the population.

According to BBC Media Action, fundamental to the approach of the programme is the idea that women in rural areas do not simply define themselves as patients. There are many different demands competing for their attention, including the price of foods, the quality and quantity of the harvest, access to markets, the availability of water, the cost of secondary education, and the settling of sons and daughters in satisfactory marriages. Pregnancy and birth takes place in this broad context, and the programmes are designed to respect and acknowledge this.

While the primary intended audience is women of childbearing age, the programmes are also designed to appeal to their husbands, as men tend to have control over the household radio and play a crucial role in either promoting or blocking the family's access to health care. To encourage women's access to the programmes, for example, the team has included a short spot in each programme encouraging men to share their radio with their wife.

Development Issues

Maternal and Neonatal Health

Key Points

According to BBC Media Action in Ethiopia, maternal deaths account for 30% of all deaths of women aged 15-49, which in turn heavily impacts on the mortality of young babies.

Sources

BBC website and BBC website on December 6 2013 and April 5 2017.