Summits - SBCC and C4D
Gathering in person to advance informed and engaged societies
Summits - SBCC and C4D

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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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.