John K. Kuehnle ’97
John Kuehnle greeting Governor Salim Mvurya during a visit to provide ventilators for COVID-19 patients in Kwale, Kenya
Saving Lives in Africa Foreign Service Health Officer John Kuehnle ’97 is quick to share what he considers one of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s best-kept secrets: it is saving lives—millions of them—across Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, one program alone, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has saved more than 20 million lives, increased life expectancy, and stabilized economies. “A lot of people in the U.S. think that HIV and AIDS are behind us,” said John, who directs the health office for USAID’s largest mission in Africa, “and one of the reasons is because of how successful these programs have been.” In Africa since 2011 and now stationed in Nairobi, Kenya, John leads USAID’s 122-person health office for Kenya and East Africa. There, he oversees an ambitious $250 million portfolio of initiatives focused on controlling 10
Groton School Quarterly
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Spring 2022
the spread of HIV/AIDS, preventing maternal and child deaths, curbing malaria, responding to COVID-19, and eliminating tuberculosis. “John’s work and leadership have been instrumental in saving lives, keeping people healthier,” said Donald Keene, who as USAID’s resident legal officer has worked with John in both South Africa and Kenya. “What motivates him more than anything else is a desire to help people— and as many people as possible.” His work in Zambia “literally saved thousands of lives of mothers and children” and garnered him USAID’s 2020 Michael K. White Award for Excellence in Improving the Lives of Women and Children, said Sheryl Stumbras, mission director for USAID/Zambia, who nominated him for the honor. When John arrived in Zambia in 2015, pregnant and
