The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative

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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Impact Data - Blue Star Campaign

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Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in October 1998, leading to a rapid increase in acute diarrhoeal disease and respiratory illnesses in the areas affected by the heavy rainfall and flooding. Before developing Blue Star project activities and materials, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP) conducted an assessment of the communication media and formative research; among the findings: almost 60% of households in the region affected by Mitch did not purify water prior to consumption, and in some homes, water was supplied by rivers and rudimentary wells.

In this context, the Blue Star Water and Sanitation Campaign sought to reduce the risk of acute diarrhoeal diseases and respiratory illnesses among Nicaraguan children aged 5 and younger through use of mass media, community mobilisation, advocacy and educational training.

Methodologies
Interviews were undertaken, as described below.
Knowledge Shifts
In May 2001, evaluators visited 476 homes in two municipalities in each of the regions prioritised due to Hurricane Mitch, as well as two municipalities in Managua. Among those exposed to Blue Star messages, the best recalled message was that of handwashing (90% or more).

As part of another component of this evaluation process, before and after each presentation of the Blue Bus (see above), 13 people were randomly chosen and asked 8 questions to assess level of recall for Blue Bus messages. Of 1,268 people interviewed:
  • the percentage who knew that diarrhoea is avoided by using a potty seat increased from 5% to 11%
  • the percentage who knew that one should not touch dirty water with one's hands increased from 17% to 29%
  • the percentage who knew that diarrhoea is avoided by washing hands increased from 79% to 82%
  • the percentage who knew that one should wash hands before preparing food increased from 45% to 62%

185 of those interviewed had no access to TV or radio. Among this group:
  • the percentage who knew that diarrhoea is avoided by using a potty seat increased from 3% to 15%
  • the percentage who knew that one should not touch dirty water with one's hands increased from 13% to 21%
  • the percentage who knew that diarrhoea is avoided by washing hands increased from 64% to 75%
  • the percentage who knew that one should wash hands before preparing food increased from 32% to 49%
Access
85% of the people from the urban areas and 87% from the rural areas of the municipalities surveyed in the Mitch area said they had heard or seen water and sanitation messages in the last month. The percentage that remembered specifically having heard or seen messages about the Blue Star campaign was lower, although still considerable - 43.4% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas.

Several questions were included in the 1998 Nicaraguan DHS to measure exposure to the campaign, assess understanding of the messages, and gauge actions taken in response to the campaign. This evaluation found that exposure to the campaign and its logo were high, with 69% to 73% of the intended audience recognising the campaign logo and 69% to 71% having heard the campaign slogan.

To cite one example of the reach of a particular programme component from the 2001 evaluation, the Blue Bus visited 114 communities, involving 258 additional communities. In the first quarter of the year 2001, a total of 65,841 people participated in the presentations by the Bus. (The Bus was designed to serve as a mobile audiovisual unit that provided messages aimed at promoting healthy practices and generating demand for information from health care services).
Source
Media/Materials Clearinghouse (M/MC) Spotlight, October 31 2005; email from Hugh Rigby to The Communication Initiative on November 30 2005; M/MC website; and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health/Center for Communication Programs (CCP) website. For the full evaluation, see The "Blue Star" Water and Sanitation Communications Campaign: Final Report on Activities.