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Polio eradication action with informed and engaged societies
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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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Community-based Health Information in the Urban Slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone

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I am honored that my abstract titled Evidence towards Behavior Change through a Participatory, Community-based Health Information System: Findings from the urban slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone was accepted for oral presentation at the SBCC summit in April in Indonesia.

While we often think of behavior change as applying to individuals (i.e. mothers), but we don't often hear about behavior change of other actors in health. This randomized control trial examines the effects of an intervention on the behavior of volunteer community health workers (CHWs) who themselves were responsible for delivering health messages to the community.  We also looked at the functionality of the local stakeholders who have the power to make decisions on behalf of the community.  The primary intervention was a participatory, bi-monthly meeting with relevant community health actors (health facility staff, management committees, local chief, CHWs, etc.) where data from the CHW household visits and the local health facilities were presented and discussed.

I hope to join others at the summit who are interested in health behavior change in urban areas, and who have experience or interest in community-level decision-making.