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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. 

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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Radio promotion of family planning in The Gambia.

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Valente, T. W., Kim, Y. M., Lettenmaier, C., Glass, W., & Dibba, Y. (1994). Radio promotion of
family planning in The Gambia. International Family Planning Perspectives, 20(3), 96-100.

International Family Planning Perspectives. 1994; 20(3): 96-100.

The Gambia Family Planning Association initiated a two-year IEC and Training Materials Project in 1989 with technical assistance from the Johns Hopkins University and US Agency for International Development funding. The project's main objectives were to improve awareness and knowledge of family planning and STDs, to increase the number of new and continuing contraceptive users at Gambia Family Planning Association clinics, and to increase the couple years of protection provided through the clinics. Radio materials were designed to convey the beliefs that Islam supports the use of modern contraception, that the modern methods are safe, that family planning service providers are knowledgeable and caring, and that couples should discuss family planning. 30-second radio spots and a 39-episode radio drama were aired as components of the campaign. Approximately 400 randomly chosen men and women living in a selected area of the Gambia were surveyed in 1991 to determine the effects of the radio drama about family planning issues. People who heard the serial drama could name significantly more contraceptive methods than those who had not and they were significantly more positive about family planning. Those who heard the program were also more likely to use a modern method than those who did not. The effect of the campaign was greatest among uneducated individuals; program exposure was associated with an increase in knowledge from 3.8 to 5.2 contraceptive methods, an increase in positive values from 9.9 to 11.3, and an increase in contraceptive users from 10% to 27%.