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11
acTively lisTening
To BeTTeR Respond
To healTh and
developmenT needs
TARA M. SULLIVAN
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Center for Communication Programs
11.1 Introduction
Working in low- and middle-income settings such as sub-Saharan
Africa and Southeast Asia brings unique challenges not readily
solved by data alone: resources are scarce, infrastructure can be
weak, and systems and cultural practices are unique. Consequently,
I relied on intuition and lessons learned from my experience and
some failures as a Peace Corps volunteer in sub-Saharan Africa in
order to forge a more fruitful work experience five years later on
the ailand–Burma border in Southeast Asia. Among the many
lessons I learned in the Peace Corps was the va ...