Media
Media development action with informed and engaged societies
Media
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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Don’t Be Negative About Being Positive

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Don’t Be Negative About Being Positive is a campaign that aims to fight discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe. Since May 2005, the campaign has used personalised messages from people living positively with HIV, disseminated through television, radio, and print media, to raise awareness and discourage stigma. Developed and produced by Population Services International (PSI) - Zimbabwe and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department for International Development (DFID), the campaign is based on the belief that reducing stigma plays a large role in HIV and AIDS prevention and care.
Communication Strategies

This campaign features a radio, television, and print - through newspapers and posters - mass media campaign consisting of testimonials by people living with HIV (PLWHA). The campaign was created in Zimbabwe over a three-month period and, according to the organisers, was developed in close collaboration with PLWHA who face stigma on a daily basis. By telling the stories of prominent and ordinary people who lead productive lives with HIV, the campaign intends to advocate for the acceptance of PLWHA, promote the importance of knowing one’s HIV status, and show that there is life after a positive HIV diagnosis. Using the stories of those who are willing to share their HIV status in public, PSI aims to contribute to ending prejudice and encouraging others to follow the example of those PLWHA who are collaborating in the message creation.

Development Issues

HIV/AIDS.

Key Points

PSI communicates health messages through a variety of channels including mass media, peer education, school programmes, community theatre, mobile multi-media events, interpersonal communication, and special event sponsorship. According to PSI, the stigma that surrounds PLWHA prevents people from getting tested, seeking treatment, and admitting their HIV-positive status to others. Therefore, helping PLWHA living with HIV and AIDS get access to treatment, mutual support, and a platform to have their voices heard at local and national levels is particularly effective in tackling stigma. This campaign won a 2005 Global Media Award.

Partners

USAID, DFID.

Sources

PSI website on December 3 2007.