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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Gold Circle Clinics Campaign - West Africa

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Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (JHU/CCP) and Sante Familiale et Prevention du SIDA (SFPS) launched a family planning community awareness project by building new Gold Circle clinics in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire. The primary audience for this programme is urban or peri-urban women of reproductive age (20-49) living with a partner and at least one child. The secondary audience includes the women's partners and family members. The GO campaign's objectives were to increase 1) use of modern family planning methods, 2) clinic attendance at GO and family planning clinics, 3) positive attitudes toward family planning and 4) discussion by couples about family planning.
Communication Strategies

JHU/CCP promoted GO (Gold Circle) sites through the mass media by broadcasting TV and radio spots and displaying posters and sign boards with the GO logo--a smiling provider with an outstretched hand--and the GO slogan "We are here to listen to you". Community participation was a principle aspect of the GO strategy. GO quality teams consisting of providers and community representatives planned local campaigns, including open clinic days, market days and health talks. Through community participation each new clinic attracted people in its own creative way. Apart from promotional material such as key chains, T-shirts and calendars, one site had hostesses wearing sandwich boards with family planning messages and another site featured a comedy choir of elderly women singing about GO.

Development Issues

Women, Health, Family Planning.

Key Points

In order to receive the GO quality award the clinic was required to adhere to specific standards such as stocking a range of family planning methods, employing competent and informative counselors, minimal waiting times, report clinical data regularly and practice safe infection prevention techniques. After four phases, a total of 100 accredited GO clinics were set up across Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Togo and Cote d' Ivoire (unfortuneately, the political situation in Cote d' Ivoire made it impossible to collect evaluation data).


Because the clinics were promoted to be user friendly through a wide range of media, the numbers of new clients rose significantly, even six months after the initial launch. Exit surveys conducted when a new client completed a visit showed a great satisfaction with the performance of the GO clinics.

Partners

Sante Familiale et Prevention du SIDA (SFPS), JHU/CCP, funded by USAID.

Sources

Communiction Impact Newsletter March 2001 Number 11. Johns Hopkins University, Center for Communication Programs, Phyllis Tilson Piotrow, Director, Baltimore, USA.