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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.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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Huffman, S. L., Panagides, D., Rosenbaum, J., & Parlato, M. (1991). Breastfeeding promotion in Central America: High impact at low cost.

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Huffman, S. L., Panagides, D., Rosenbaum, J., & Parlato, M. (1991). Breastfeeding promotion in Central America: High impact at low cost.  Washington, DC: USAID.

Abstract: 

Breast-feeding promotion projects conducted in Honduras, Panama, and El Salvador demonstrated that a relatively small financial investment can have a substantial impact on breast-feeding practices in Central America. The projects sought to change the attitudes of health professionals, modify hospital norms and practices, and provide intensive counseling for new mothers. The PROALMA (Proyecto de Apoyo a la Lactancia Materna) Project, implemented in Honduras in 1983-88, focused primarily on training health professionals and establishing lactation clinics at three urban hospitals, but was preceded by a major mass media campaign. The Panama Breast Feeding Promotion Project (1983-87) included regional training of health professionals, establishment of milk banks in hospitals in six regions, local mass media efforts, and a working women's research component. The CALMA (Centro de Apoyo a la Lactancia Materna) Project in El Salvador (1980-89) trained health and community workers in urban and rural areas, set up milk banks at hospitals, and formed support groups for mothers at three hospitals. During the period the PROLAMA project was implemented, the median duration of breast-feeding in urban areas of Honduras increased from 4 months (1981) to 10 months (1987). Program-specific surveys in the areas covered by PROLAMA showed an increase in the median duration of unsupplemented breast-feeding from 2 weeks in 1983 to 2.5 months in 1985. In Panama, there was an increase in the mean duration of breast-feeding in urban areas from 6 months to almost 8 months after the first year of the project. There are insufficient data from El Salvador to assess program impact. Project costs were in the range of $100,000-200,000/year. In Honduras, cost savings averaged $26,500/year in the two PROLAMA hospitals for which data were available. In Panama, these savings averaged $1000/year in small regional hospitals and $11,000/year in a large urban hospital.