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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Gupta, N., Katende, C., & Bessinger, R. (2003). Associations of mass media exposure with family planning attitudes and practices in Uganda

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Gupta, N., Katende, C., & Bessinger, R. (2003). Associations of mass media exposure with family planning attitudes and practices in Uganda. Studies in Family Planning, 34(1), 19-31.

Abstract

This study examines the associations between multimedia behavior change communication (BCC) campaigns and women's and men's use of and intention to use modern contraceptive methods in target areas of Uganda. Data are drawn primarily from the 1997 and 1999 Delivery of Improved Services for Health (DISH) evaluation surveys, which collected information from representative samples of women and men of reproductive age in the districts served by the DISH project. Additional time-trend analyses rely on data from the 1995 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey. Logistic regressions are used to assess the associations between BCC exposure and family planning attitudes and practices, controlling for individuals' background characteristics. To minimize the biases of self-reported exposure, the analyses also explore cluster-level indexes of the penetration of BCC messages in the community. Results indicate that exposure to BCC messages was associated with increased contraceptive use and intention to use. Some evidence of self-reported bias is found, and the pathways to fertility-related behavioral change appear different for women and men.