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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AIDS Information Centre - Uganda

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The Uganda AIDS Information Centre (AIC) was a pioneering experiment created in conjunction with the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service. It focused on the use of mass voluntary HIV testing and counseling as a means of encouraging behaviour change in the face of the HIV epidemic. Since 1990, this project, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan countries, has been extended to other African countries.
Communication Strategies

Pre and post-test counseling was made available for approximately 200,000 people between 1990 and 1995. Pre-marital HIV testing services were also provided at the request of family, priests or clergymen. By providing information and knowledge, positive awareness on behaviour change replaced negative feelings of hopelessness and fatalism.
Development Issues

HIV/AIDS
Key Points

There were an approximately equal number of men and women visiting the centre.The relationship between the AIC and the Ugandan Blood Transfusion Service (UBTS) was two-fold. First, the centre provided an alternative place for people to go that only wanted to receive a free HIV test and did not want to donate blood. Secondly, the AIC paid the UBTS for each test it performed through USAID funding, providing valuable income for the service.
Partners



European Union, USAID (United States Agency for International Development)

Sources

Rex Winsbury, Safe blood in developing countries: The Lessons from Uganda (Brussels:Lannoo-Drukkerij, 1995) 53-55.