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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CORE India Combined Routine and Polio Immunization Drive 2010

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In 2010, the CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) in India undertook a communication-centred initiative to deliver the oral polio vaccine (OPV) as well as routine immunisation (RI) to underserved, high-risk areas. Formed in 1999 in Uttar Pradesh, CGPP's India Secretariat implements the project via an extensive network of Community Mobilization Coordinators (CMCs) who conduct social mobilisation activities in high-risk areas to promote acceptance of the OPV. CGPP CMCs also partner with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) CMCs to make up the Social Mobilization Network (SM Net), which works with underserved communities in high-risk areas in coordination with district governments, NPSP (National Polio Surveillance Project), and other polio partners.

Communication Strategies

As part of this effort, 276 auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) carried out 263 sessions in an effort to confront challenges such as the fact that there is only one ANM posted in the urban Sambhal block of Moradabad for a population of 300,000, and there is resistant behaviour on the part of the community to accepting OPV. In advance of the immunisation drive, press briefings were conducted by health officials for local media. CMCs distributed RI invitation slips to all parents and conducted interpersonal communication (IPC) sessions with mothers on RI and OPV. Public announcements were made 2 days prior to the campaign - as well as on the day of immunisation - using megaphones. Leaflets announcing the date and venue of the immunisation sessions were posts in shops and clinics. Pamphlets on vaccination, sanitation, and diarrhoea management were distributed to parents. Session sites were decorated with local and printed materials. Influencers such as members of the National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA) worked to mobilise families resistant to RI, and physicians inaugurated the sessions. CMCs advised mothers about the next immunisation drive. In total, 21,860 children were immunised.

 

Development Issues

Immunisation and Vaccines

Sources

CORE Group Polio Project (CGPP) India website, October 25 2012.