Polio
Polio eradication action with informed and engaged societies
Polio

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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The End of Polio

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This online advocacy campaign has been developed in advance of a large event to support polio eradication as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Australia on October 28 2011. In July 2011, the Global Poverty Project launched The End of Polio global campaign coinciding with the meeting calling on governments around the world to fully fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

Communication Strategies

This campaign asks world leaders to fully fund the work of the GPEI by asking everyday citizens around the world to sign an online petition showing their support for eradicating polio by visiting the End of Polio website. People taking part in this advocacy effort are also asked to:

  • Meet with key decision-makers to ask our governments to give to the GPEI and commit to realising the end of polio.
  • Share stories of progress in fighting polio through the media, social media (the campaign's hashtag is #endofpolio) and online - for example, through the The End of Polio Facebook page.
  • Hold events to demonstrate support for ending polio.
Development Issues

Polio.

Partners

The End of Polio is coordinated by the Global Poverty Project, in support of global polio eradication efforts led by the GPEI, Rotary International, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Gates Foundation.

Sources

Email from Lieven Desomer to The Communication Initiative on August 5 2011; and End of Polio website, August 8 2011.