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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The effect of health education interventions on child malaria treatment-seeking practices among mothers in rural refugee villages in Belize, Central America.

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Cropley, L. (2004). "The effect of health education interventions on child malaria treatment-seeking practices among mothers in rural refugee villages in Belize, Central America." Health Promotion International 19(4): 445-452.

Abstract: This paper reports on a study conducted to examine the effect of health education interventions on mothers' treatment-seeking behaviors for their children's malaria fevers. The study used a quasi-experimental post-test community-based design with an intervention and control group. A post-intervention survey was conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes and child fever and malaria treatment-seeking behaviors and access and exposure to health messages. Survey results indicated that some health education interventions, especially interpersonal communication, appeared to have a positive impact on fever and malaria beliefs and attitudes and on positive treatment-seeking behaviors. While some interventions appeared to have a positive impact on fever and malaria beliefs and attitudes and on positive treatment-seeking behaviors, limitations in the study design made assigning specific effects to the interventions difficult. However, health education interventions remain a valuable tool in addressing malaria in children.