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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Peer education: the effects on knowledge of pregnancy related malaria and preventive practices in women of reproductive age in Edo State, Nigeria

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Mens, P. F., P. F. D. Scheelbeek, et al. (2011). "Peer education: the effects on knowledge of pregnancy related malaria and preventive practices in women of reproductive age in Edo State, Nigeria." BMC Public Health 11(610): (1 August 2011)-(2011 August 2011).

Background - There is limited uptake of measures to prevent malaria by pregnant women in Nigeria which is often related to the lack of knowledge on Malaria in Pregancy (MIP) and its effects on mother and foetus. This study, explored peer to peer education as a tool in raising knowledge of MIP among women of child bearing age.

Methods - 1105 women of child bearing age were interviewed in their households using a structured questionnaire about their knowledge of malaria in general, MIP and use of preventive measures. Thereafter, a peer education campaign was launched to raise the level of knowledge in the community. The interviews were repeated after the campaign and the responses between the pre- and post-intervention were compared.

Results - In the pre-assessment women on average answered 64.8% of the question on malaria and its possibility to prevent malaria correctly. The peer education campaign had a significant impact in raising the level of knowledge among the women; after the campaign the respondents answered on average 73.8% of the questions correctly. Stratified analysis on pre and post assessment scores for malaria in general (68.8 & 72.9%) and MIP (61.7 & 76.3%) showed also significant increase. Uptake of bed nets was reported to be low: 11.6%.

Conclusion - Peer education led to a significant increase in knowledge of malaria and its prevention but we could not asses its influence on the use of preventive measures.