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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Ezindu - Nigeria

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Ezindu ('Happy Family'), was a weekly Igbo radio drama, series broadcast in 1988, that featured reproductive health and child survival themes. Part of a larger campaign which included a workshop for leaders and print materials, Ezindu promoted family planning and women's health using talks, discussions, features, music, audience participation, and drama. Ezindu also included realistic situations incorporating family planning as part of daily life and encouraged the general public to attend family planning clinics. The series was pretested for cultural appropriateness and accuracy and targeted both rural and urban listeners.
Communication Strategies

There were 26 30-minute radio drama episodes, broadcast 44 times (including repeats). One of the most popular storylines centered on a couple who have more children than they can care for. The story poignantly portrays scenarios in a household with too many children. There is inadequate food and insufficient money to pay for school fees and health care. The story is further developed by the intervention of a neighbor who informs the couple about family planning and how it could help them. Stories with vivid characters and realistic situations that the listening audience can identify with influenced the audience to seek further information on family planning.

Development Issues

Reproductive Health, Child Survival, Early Child Development.

Partners

Imo Ministry of Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (CCP), and Emerharole (evaluation).