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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Towards 4+5

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Towards 4+5 is a research consortium co-ordinated by the United Kingdom (UK)-based Centre for International Health and Development, Institute of Child Health, University College London (UCL). The purpose of the 5-year programme is to develop and implement strategies to support achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for mothers and infants. Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), this consortium looks at maternal, neonatal and infant health - working towards achieving MDGs #4 and #5 - using strategic research to develop the evidence base for policy for mother and infant care at facility and community level, worldwide.
Communication Strategies
This initiative draws on partnership and collaboration as a strategy for helping meet the maternal and child health MDGs. A group of organisations around the world (please see Partners section, below) is working together to manage projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nepal, Malawi and Bangladesh with the purpose of improving maternal and infant health in economically poor countries, by integrating disparate evidence, generating new knowledge in key areas, and communicating research findings.

Specifically, the consortium aims to support the evidence-based policy and practice for maternal and child health by:
  • Providing evidence in interventions to improve the survival of women and infants through (i) community interventions and (ii) health services delivery
  • Influencing policy and management decision-making on large-scale programmes for maternal and infant mortality reduction
  • Increasing capacity in partner countries for knowledge generation and policy influence.
Towards 4+5 will use a variety of methods to communicate its research, including peer-reviewed journals, international conferences, workshops, websites, leaflets, policy briefs, manuals, radio interviews, and meetings with stakeholders.
Development Issues

Maternal and Child Health.

Partners

The consortium, which is funded by the DFID, includes:

  • Institute of Child Health, UK
  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
  • International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)
  • Perinatal Care Project (PCP), Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (DAB)
  • Centre MURAZ, Burkina Faso
  • Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC), Ministry of Health/Ghana Health Services
  • Maimwana project, Lilongwe Central Hospital, Malawi
  • Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA), Nepal
  • The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kings College London, UK
  • National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, UK
  • Aga Khan University, Pakistan

Sources

Emails from Sarah Ball to The Communication Initiative on May 3 2006, May 10 2006, and June 13 2007 and June 14 2007.