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 lainiciativadecomunicacion.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Long-term preventive mass prescription of weekly doses of iron sulfate may be highly effective to reduce endemic child anemia

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Monteiro, C. A., S. C. Szarfarc, et al. (2001). "Long-term preventive mass prescription of weekly doses of iron sulfate may be highly effective to reduce endemic child anemia." Food and Nutrition Bulletin 22(1): 53-61.

INTRODUCTION: Iron-deficiency anemia in children remains one of the most important nutritional problems faced by developing countries. Well-controlled efficacy studies show that intermittent iron supplementation can improve children's iron status as well as the traditional daily schedule. This gives new impetus to controlling child anemia by weekly preventive iron supplementation.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate, in a child population in which anemia is highly prevalent, the effectiveness of long-term preventive provision of weekly doses of iron sulfate to all children from 6 to 59 months of age.

METHODS: Children from both the intervention and the control groups were selected from a random cross-sectional sample of the child population of the city of Sāo Paulo, Brazil. Parents in the intervention group were visited in their homes and received nutrition education plus a solution of iron sulfate with the request to give it to their children once a week until a follow-up visit occurred in approximately six months. Parents in the control group received only nutrition education. The effect of the intervention was judged by changes in hemoglobin concentration and the prevalence of anemia. Comparisons between the two groups were made based on an intention-to-treat approach, and all estimates were adjusted for initial hemoglobin concentration, initial age, total duration of follow-up, and family income.

RESULTS: The average hemoglobin gain due to the intervention was 4.0 g/L, with a fall of more than 50% in the prevalence of anemia among the children. The intervention was particularly effective in preventing declines in hemoglobin concentration during the first two years of life. This study demonstrates that long-term preventive weekly iron supplementation of preschool children significantly reduces the risk of anemia under conditions similar to those possible through routine public health programs.