Child rights action with informed and engaged societies

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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Communication, ideation and contraceptive use in Burkina Faso: An application of the propensity score matching method.

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Babalola, S., & Vonrasek, C. (2005). Communication, ideation and contraceptive use in Burkina
Faso: An application of the propensity score matching method. Journal of Family Planning Reproductive Health Care, 31(3), 207-261.


Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

The study aim was to assess the effects of a multi-component communication campaign that promoted contraceptive use in Burkina Faso.
METHODS:

This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in 2001 involving 1421 women of reproductive age from Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Participants during the 2001 survey were randomly selected from 54 enumeration areas that were covered during the 1999 Demographic and Health Survey. The propensity score matching (PSM) technique was the analytical method used to assess the effects of the campaign.
RESULTS:

More than three-quarters of the respondents reported exposure to at least one example of campaign material. Compared with no exposure, high campaign exposure is associated with an adjusted increase of 21.8 percentage points in the proportion of women currently using modern contraceptive methods. Similarly, low exposure is associated with a 7.3 percentage point increase over no exposure. The campaign is also associated with increased knowledge about contraceptives and more favourable attitudes towards family planning.
CONCLUSIONS:

The multiple-component nature of the campaign makes it easy for many members of the target audience to hear consistent messages from a variety of sources. This is a key element responsible for the documented effectiveness of the campaign. Despite its limitations, the PSM technique is a straightforward method that should be used more often to assess the effects of communication programmes.