About Alanna

Published January 12, 2009 @ 09:58PM PT

Hi, I'm Alanna, and I'll be your global health blogger for the foreseeable future.

After two weeks of blogging, I thought it was about time we were formally introduced. We've been discussing abstinence, condoms and abortion when we've never even said hello.

When I meet someone at a conference, here's what I tell them: I have a master's degree in public health with an international health focus. I spent six years living in Central Asia, and I am moving back this month. I spent a year and a half in Cairo, and I was never the same afterward. I've gone to a lot of effort to remain a generalist, picking jobs that let me deal with a wide range of global health topics, instead of becoming a specialist in just one thing. I have worked in disaster relief, health sector reform, and most of the stuff in between. I speak French and Uzbek pretty well, and Russian, Arabic and Urdu pretty badly.

When I make a new friend, I tell them this: I am obsessed with health issues. I ended up getting an MPH because I was just going to read about global health all the time anyway. Doing my degree felt like coming home. I'm pretty good at talking about health to people who really don't care about it. I spend a lot of time convincing friends and colleagues to care. I once ratted out a diploma mill. I've got a healthy almost-three-year-old son, and a terminally ill almost-seventy-year-old father, so I am pretty familiar with the American health care system from a lot of angles. I can talk about global health until the cows and their future clones come home to the underground bunker, so I'm awfully glad someone gave me a blog where I can do so.

Now you know all about me. I'd love it if you'd introduce yourselves in the comments, so I know who I'm writing to. Google analytics can only tell a person so much. Tell me why you're interested in global health, what you'd like to see in the blog, where you come from, what your story is - whatever you think I should know.

Share this Post

Comments (7)

I'm glad you introduced yourself, Alanna. I'm a historian interested in issues of gender and health (my own work is on 2 Chinese women missionary physicians from the early twentieth century). I'm teaching a Global History course focused on issues of gender, and I bring in issues of gender and health whenever I can. I'm looking forward to your blog to give me ideas!

Posted by Connie Shemo on 01/13/2009 @ 09:18AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Connie
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Hi Alana,

I'm so glad to have stumbled upon your blog. I'm a student, junior in college majoring in Public Policy and minoring in Global Health. I'm interested in learning about how both fields can be used together to help people.

As a student, I'm also wondering about career opportunities in Global Health, especially ones that can won't keep you eating ramen noodles forever.

Posted by Mak F on 01/13/2009 @ 01:04PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Mak
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Hello Alanna,

We met yesterday on email. Here is my story: I was born on a train in India. Whenever I need purpose or direction in life I think about this. It gives me goosebumps every time. Life is fragile and largely unexpected and yet there is so much good. I love healthcare because it deals with peoples' most vulnerable and exciting stages of life. I love reading about new technology or novel simple ways to heal. It is invigorating for me to be involved in cross-faith work in malaria control through Malaria No More.

Thanks for your blogging. I love your insight.

Khizer

Posted by Khizer Husain on 01/13/2009 @ 01:48PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Khizer
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Connie - Historians have the best specialties. Have you written anything a layperson would enjoy? Send me a link?

Mak F - I think the career opportunities are pretty good. You won't be eating caviar, but you can avoid ramen.

Khizer - So do you think you're fated to travel?

Posted by Alanna Shaikh on 01/13/2009 @ 05:13PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Alanna
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Qalaysiz Allana. Nechincha yil O'zbekistanda ishlagansiz. Hi Allana. I also worked in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for years. Now I am in Darfur with an NGO involved in curative and preventative health projects. I spent 4 years in Afghanistan and about a total of 6 in Uzbekistan working in general health promotion. I left in 2001 for Afghanistan and came back to Uzbekistan in time for the massacre of NGOs in 2006.
Nice to meet you.

Posted by Rob Graves on 03/09/2009 @ 01:50AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Rob
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Hi Alanna! I'm about 2 months late commenting here, but I just started reading the blog (from the beginning), so I'll introduce myself anyway.

I'm Lianne. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I'm a third year computer science student at the University of Manitoba. I'm an animal rights activist, and now I'm trying to extend my compassion and activism to other worthy causes. I don't cope well with things being bad, so I can't see something bad in the world and just not do anything... though it seems like I can never do enough, I do what I can. Umm, I'm also a belly dancer, and I play the piano. I like to read a lot.

I look forward to reading the rest of your blog!

Posted by Lianne Lavoie on 03/13/2009 @ 01:11PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Lianne
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Hi Alanna,

I too am obsessed with health - the health of children! I want to talk to anybody who will listen about pneumonia and diarrhea - they kill more children than any other diseases and for the first time we have vaccines that can prevent the deadliest strains of the bacteria that cause so much death.

World Pneumonia Day is planned for Nov 2nd to shine a light onto pneumonia deaths - check out www.worldpneumoniaday.org and the petition on this site. Two videos at www.globalhealthtv and www.http://everychild.gavialliance.org show the terrible toll that pneumonia takes.

But I am very positive - because the hard science is done - we have the vaccines - now it is up to people like us to push for the rollout of these vaccines in Africa, South Asia and Central America. Rwanda and The Gambia will introduce the pneumococcal vaccine this month. If we get this right we will see child deaths from pneumonia decline substantially and steadily over the next decade. Join with us and be part of this dramatic improvement in child health on our planet!

Posted by Leith Greenslade on 04/14/2009 @ 05:18PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Leith
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Alanna Shaikh has spent the last ten years immersed in global health; she has worked for NGOs, companies, universities, and the US government on projects that ranged from preventing antibacterial resistance to improving maternal and child health.