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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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An empowerment program to enhance women's ability to prevent and control malaria in the community, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

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Geounuppakul, M., P. Butraporn, et al. (2007). "An empowerment program to enhance women's ability to prevent and control malaria in the community, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand." Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 38(3): 546-559.

Methods: Paulo Freire's theory was modified to empower a women's group in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand, to prevent and control malaria. This study conducted an intervention in Mueang Na Wan Village, Mueang Na Sub-district, Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province, where 45 women were systematically recruited into the study cohort. Navail Village was selected as a control village because it resembled the intervention village. The empowerment program emphasized enhancement of malaria preventive levels, using insecticide-treated bed nets, self-esteem, and self confidence expectation to prevent and control malaria. Intensive training was conducted and activities performed among the women's group, with 10 participatory meetings in all. Data collection was conducted for the pre-test in month 1, and postintervention in months 3, 6, 9, and 12. The qualitative methods used were focus-group discussions, non-participant observations, and in-depth interviews with housewives, their husbands, and youths at risk for malaria.

Results: The results showed that at post-intervention, there were significantly increased levels for malaria preventive behaviours, behaviours of using insecticide-treated nets, self-esteem, and self confidence expectations, in the intervention village compared with the control village. Insecticide-treated net usage and insecticide-treated net usage behaviours increased in the intervention village more than before and more than that in the control village.

Conclusion: The women's group in the intervention village created the following plans, which were crucial to malaria prevention: (1) a family protection plan, (2) providing malaria education to community members, (3) a mosquito-control campaign, (4) scaling-up insecticide-impregnated bed nets, and (5) malaria control among foreign laborers. Finally, the empowered women's group performed sustainable activities. Between malaria-prevention activities, they conducted a joint program to raise income for their families.