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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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Locating Nutrition Debates in the Context of Globalisation and Gender/Social Hierarchies

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Author: Ranjani K. Murthy, April 23 2014       The Zero Draft Political Outcome Document for the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2) which will be held in Rome in 2014 recognises that a framework for collective commitment, action and results is needed to reshape the global food system to improve people’s nutrition, particularly that of women and children (WHO, n.d). 

The Zero Draft Political Outcome Document renews commitment to reduce the number of children under 5 who are stunted; reduce anaemia in women of reproductive age; reduce low birth weight; halt the increase in the prevalence of overweight in children under 5; increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months; reduce and maintain the prevalence of wasting in children under 5; as well as reverse the rise in obesity and diabetes (WHO, n.d). 

Seven strategies are suggested by the Draft document to achieve the above commitments: 

I.    Aligning food systems (systems for food production, storage and distribution) to people’s health needs; 
II.    Making food systems equitable, enabling all to access nutritious foods; 
III.    Making food systems provide safe and nutritious food in a sustainable and resilient way; 
IV.    Ensuring through public policies that nutritious food is accessible, affordable and acceptable 
V.    Establishing governments’ leadership for shaping food systems; 
VI.    Encouraging contributions from all actors in society; 
VII.    Implementing a framework through which  progress with implementing these commitments can be monitored

The ICN2 Zero Draft Political Outcome Document observes that ecological sustainability concerns, in particular climate change, poses a constraint to achievement of the commitments listed above.  At the other end, it notes that consumption of processed foods, sugar and saturated & transfats poses a challenge (WHO, n.d).       

Comments

The commitments (e.g. reduction in anemia in women), constraints, and the seven strategies outlined in the draft are indeed welcome given that the progress in achieving MDG targets on nutrition has been slower than those on income poverty. 

It is suggested that the additional commitments, constraints and strategies suggested in Figure 1 could be considered building upon Murthy and Kappen (2013).


Figure 1: Additional commitments, constraints and strategies

COMMITMENTS

CONSTRAINTS

STRATEGIES

•Reduce number adults whose BMI is below 18.5
•Reduction in cultivated land*, livestock and forest produce per person
•Removal of food subsidies by developed countries
•Address gender and social disparities in malnutrition (race, caste, class, disability, HIV status etc)
•Diversion of land for fuel crops, animal feed, genetically modified  (GM) food, etc.
•Policy  and legislation on land which strengthens food and nutrition security
 
•Unequal ownership of land and access to affordable food  
•Legislation  which freezes a point beyond which agriculture land cannot be converted
 
•Unethical food advertisement
•Ban unethical food advertisements and GM foods
 
•Increase in income not leading to
healthy diet
•Legislation on right to nutrition
 
•Lack of legislation on right to nutrition
•Supplementary nutrition for malnourished workers in cash for work programmes
 
•Cash for work schemes promoted with malnourished population
•Address social and gender biases in implementation of nutrition schemes
  
•Breast-feeding friendly work spaces

 

* The FAO Statistical Year Book 2013 notes that global cultivated land per person has gradually declined from 0.44 ha to less than 0.25 ha over the last 50 years (FAO, 2013). 


It is only when the negotiation power of developing countries in a globalizing world and that of marginalized groups vis-a-vis household, community, markets and state enhances that the constraints can be addressed and strategies implemented. Only then will the commitments of the Draft Document on reduction of malnutrition be achieved. 

References

Food and Agricultural Organization, 2013, FAO Statistical Yearbook 2013: World food and agriculture, Rome 2013 [PDF format].

Murthy, R.K, and M. Kappen, 2013, Gender and Food Security in India: A Trainer’s Manual, Visthar, Bangalore, India.

World Health Organization, n.d, THE ROME ACCORD ICN2 zero draft political outcome document for 19 November 2014 [PDF format].

 

Image credit: The Hindu