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

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Infant Feeding in the Context of HIV in South Africa: Questions and Answers

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This handbook, produced by the Yezingane Network and the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, is designed to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) about infant feeding in the context of HIV. Beginning with the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of exclusive breastfeeding (giving the baby no food or drink - not even water - other than breastmilk), the FAQs section provides basic information about breastfeeding and breastfeeding with HIV through answers to the following questions:

  • "What is the best way to feed a baby?
  • If the mother is HIV-positive, should she exclusively breastfeed?
  • How can HIV transmission through breast milk be avoided?
  • Should a breastfeeding mother who is HIV-positive or her baby be on anti-retroviral treatment?
  • What is the South African Government's guidelines on HIV and breastfeeding?
  • What are the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for the BABY?
  • (What are the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding) ...and for the MOTHER?
  • Not Exclusively Breastfeeding - what are the risks?
  • What are the missed benefits?
  • If a mother does not wish to breastfeed, what options are there for feeding the baby?
  • Does a baby whose mother is HIV-positive need additional care and treatment?
  • How are other mothers around the world feeding their babies?
  • How should newborn babies be fed if they are admitted to an intensive care unit or high care unit?
  • What can you do? and finally, a list of clinics and hospitals that offer antenatal, labour, and prenatal care:
  • Where in South Africa can mothers get help with exclusive breastfeeding?"


This booklet was produced after the November 2009 meeting in Durban, South Africa, called "Breastfeeding in the Context of HIV: What Do We Know? What Should We Do?" and follow-up meetings in October 2010 between Yezingane Network and key HIV/AIDS and infant feeding civil society organisations to present then-new evidence on the importance of breastfeeding in the context of HIV in an easy-to-understand way.

Number of Pages

11

Source

Journaids website, October 20 2011.

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