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Headshot 1.jpg About Alanna

Contact Me

Professional: health consulting, writing about global health for UN Dispatch and about international relief and development at Blood & Milk, developing winning proposals, monitoring and evaluating social sector projects, helping small groups avoid beginners' mistakes [read my resume] [connect on LinkedIn]

Personal: mothering, food blogging, caregiving, living abroad, taking the occasional picture

Other ways to contact me: Use the form at the bottom of this page or reach out by skype - I'm alanna.shaikh.

News: I'm a senior TED fellow!

Blood and Milk

  • Where are the interesting aid thinkers?
    [6 Jan 12, 7:45am] In mid-November, Paul Currion wrote a pointed blog post asking why we see so few interesting thinkers in the aid sector. I tracked him down on skype to talk about it a little more. It turns out we were on slightly different tracks in thinking about t…
  • circus, circus
    [29 Nov 11, 4:14pm] Last week I took my son to the circus. Specifically, a traveling troupe of Chinese acrobats. It was quite clearly the troupe that plays Dushanbe, not the troupe that plays Moscow. They attempted the big stunts, but they didn’t always make it. Spinn…
  • Walk On
    [15 Nov 11, 4:45pm]   It’s okay to quit the Peace Corps. I’ve gotten a couple of email lately that made me really nervous. I responded to them personally, but it made me want to say something here, on this blog. I know a lot of Peace Corps volunteers read this, so:…

UN Dispatch

  • Totally Drug Resistant TB
    [11 Jan 12, 3:20pm] Tuberculosis has now gone from probably the most dangerous infectious disease in the world to definitely the most dangerous infectious disease in the world. Read more
  • On World AIDS Day
    [1 Dec 11, 1:59pm] The scientific promise for the end of HIV is the brightest it’s ever been. We’re poised, medically, to bring this epidemic to its knees. Yet on World AIDS Day, the global community seems more indifferent than ever before to HIV. Read more
  • Progress in Fighting Pneumonia
    [14 Nov 11, 2:06pm] Good, basic, medical care will save kids’ lives. We knew that already, but an exciting new study in The Lancet makes it extremely clear. According to a new study conducted by Save the Children, “Children treated at home for severe pneumonia by Pa…

Career Advice

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Twitter

My Tajikistan

Recipe Blog

  • Apple Pie Cake
    [26 Oct 11, 4:18am] This is a stunner of a cake that you can mix in a single bowl. You can bake it in a pie pan and cut in slices like a pie to serve, or bake in an 8x8 pan and cut it into squares. If you cut it in pie slices, you'll probably want to add a little w…
  • Cupcakes you can make for your kid to take to school while simultaneously editing your project’s five-year workplan
    [23 Aug 11, 11:12am] (in other words, these are easy and very quick.)Ingredients1 1/2 cups Flour1 tsp. Baking Soda1/2 tsp. Salt1 Tbsp. Cinnamon1 cup Granulated Sugar2 tsp. Vanilla1 TBSP Vinegar1/2 cup Oil1 cup Water22 squares of chocolate or 22 Hershey’s ki…
  • Dim Sum Sauce
    [4 Apr 11, 6:46pm] Seriously, never tell anyone I told you this, but you can make a surprisngly nice dipping sauce for dim sum - or any other asian dumplingy thing - by combinging equal parts soy sauce and coca-cola and adding powdered ginger to taste.

Photos of Central Asia

IMG_0035mausoleum doorstonesminaret3Khiva photos mom 026Khiva photos mom 166

Contact Me

Advice for Caregivers

Selected Writings