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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Magic Shows for TB Sensitisation

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Several communities in India joined the global push to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) on the occasion of World TB Day (March 24) 2008 by creating awareness about the disease through entertainment. District-level TB Control Societies joined with magician Ved Parkash and his team from Chandigarh to perform magic shows in areas with low levels of education such as urban slums, as well as in nursing schools and major hospitals. This strategy - in concert with community-level sensitisation meetings being led by local physicians - is intended to support the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) in India.
Communication Strategies

As per the policy of the National Government of India, this initiative stresses the power of information, communication, and education (IEC) activities to spread the message about TB and its control with the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) therapy. "The show attracts a large audience" in Tarn Taran, says District TB Officer Dr. Gagandeep Singh Grover. Educating people in districts like Tarn Taran, which covers a population of around 1.2 million - 90% of which is rural - is seen as important in containing the disease in a country where, despite the free diagnosis and treatment facilities provided under the RNTCP, thousands with TB die due to lack of awareness about diagnosis and treatment. This method of IEC, which integrates role plays as well, involves magician Ved Parkash entertaining the audience, and a local public health expert such as Dr. Grover conveying clear messages about TB. People of all ages and from all walks of life - including health officials - attend the live performances, most of which are held in public locations in order to reach a large number of passers-by - e.g, those meandering through the slum areas in which they live, hospital visitors and staff, people heading for nearby bus stops and railway stations, etc.

To further display political and administrative commitment toward TB control as RNTCP is being implemented in India, some physicians have organised sensitisation workshops for TB patients, members of the public, representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and health workers. For instance, on the occasion of World TB day (March 24) 2008, Dr. Grover (referenced above) displayed one distinct feature of RNTCP - the so-called "patient-wise drug boxes" and explained their role in the DOTS regimen. Then, Dr. Grover took the STOP TB pledge and asked all those present to do the same by proclaiming "I am Stopping TB". At this event, the administrative head of the District provided DOTS to 2 TB patients in front of those gathered.

Development Issues

Health.

Sources

Stop TB News, April 2008; email from Dr. Gagandeep Singh Grover to The Communication Initiative on June 10 2008; "TB Awareness through Magic Shows", by Arun Sharma, Tribune News Service, April 2 2006; and Stop TB Partnership website.