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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Voice and Visibility

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Author

Affiliation
Internews
Summary

This 16-page report from the Internews Service Voices project is issued in
collaboration with two HIV/AIDS networks:
the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), and the
International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO). It analyses
responses from more than 300 respondents living with HIV, as well as frontline AIDS care and service
providers, from 44 countries who were asked their views on local news
coverage on HIV/AIDS.

The report includes scope and quality of news reporting, how the media portray people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), how to engage the media, and areas for improvement including strategies and recommendations.



According to the report, one problem is that
reporters and editors still tend to use inaccurate and stigmatising language to report on HIV/AIDS. The report contrasts how the media report on PLHIV and what PLHIV and those involved in care believe reporting should contain. Providers would like to see the voice of local PLHIV, rather than global statistics and local political comment. Respondents objected to sensationalist, stigmatising, and inaccurate stories as well as the "easy" 'official' stories. They are requesting accurate, scientific, educational, appropriate, and respectful reporting.

A recommendation is to train specialist health reporters for HIV/AIDS reporting in which PLHIV can collaborate. Collaborative strategies include: co-production, mutual learning, partnership-building, and new financial models, including a reduced financial structure for HIV/AIDS-related media time. Also recommended are more frequent PLHIV responses to media information needs, and promotion of a media learning agenda, including specialist training and internal lobbying in all media houses. A suggested solution to hearing more frequently from PLHIV is the expansion of participatory media formats, such as live call-in programmes and talk shows, as well as accurate highlighting of the voices of PHLIV in the news.

In its conclusion, the report cites "improvements over the past decade in the accuracy, depth, and sensitivity of local media coverage. However, PLHIV still struggle with stigmatising media coverage..." and with coverage lacking depth, accuracy, frequency, and local relevance.

Web link
to access the introduction to this publication and a link to download the full …
Source

Internews website.