Children
Child rights action with informed and engaged societies
Children

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

Time to read
1 minute
Print
a- a+
Published 13 years ago
Last updated 1 year ago
Read so far

Tuitange Mothers' Support and Drama Group

0 comments

This Tanzanian mothers' support group is part of a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-supported programme designed to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV by providing services to pregnant women, children, and their families. The mothers' support group provides its services through home visits and a drama group, Tuitange, which uses role play to encourage voluntary HIV testing and counselling and stresses the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT).

Communication Strategies

The UNICEF programme offers HIV counselling and testing, provision of antiretroviral drugs, support for safe infant-feeding practices, early HIV testing on babies, and further antiretroviral treatment for mothers and babies who need it. The mothers' support group is attached to the local health clinic in Kitulo Ward, Makete District, Tanzania. They support the clinic services through home visits and the drama group Tuitange, which travels to different communities to educate people about PMTCT and the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months after a baby is born.

 

Some members of Tuitange are HIV positive and have chosen to be open about their status to encourage other women to get tested and to learn about how they can manage the infection and avoid passing HIV onto their babies. In 2012, the support group membership included 22 mothers and 13 fathers, who give psychosocial support to one another and assist HIV-positive women to follow up with their medical check-ups and treatment.

Development Issues

HIV, Maternal health

Key Points

According to UNICEF, the mothers’ support group is achieving impressive results within the community. Couples understand the importance of being HIV tested when expecting a baby and no longer feel ashamed or embarrassed. As a result, a higher number of pregnant women and their partners are attending antenatal care, with uptake of HIV testing and counselling now correspondingly high. For those women found to be HIV positive, adherence to treatment has increased as a result of individual follow-up sessions encouraged by the support group.

Partners

UNICEF

Sources

UNICEF website on September 10 2012.