Inexcusable
The Globe's John Donnelly investigates Larry Summers' handling of the $100-million AIDS grant to the Harvard School of Public Health. This disturbing piece of reporting raises probably the most serious questions about Larry Summers' judgment and leadership style yet raised.
Nut graf: "Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers delayed the spending of millions of dollars to treat dying AIDS patients in Africa for five months last year, because he worried that the program was hastily crafted and could be a legal risk to the school," a senior Harvard official said. "...Harvard's delay meant that some patients died."
Some background. In February 2004, the federal government awarded large grants to fight AIDS in Africa to Harvard, Columbia, Catholic Relief Services, and the Elizagbeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. As Donnelly reports, the latter three institutions began spending that money in March. Immediate action was urgent.
But Harvard waited until September to start spending its funds, many of which were earmarked for the purchase of AIDS drugs. The drugs didn't start arriving in Africa until November and December, nine and ten months after Harvard received the money. How many AIDS patients died during that time? "We lost many," said Dr. Isaac Adewole, who oversees one of Harvard's treatment sites. "Even now, we still don't understand what Harvard was doing." And, Donnelly notes, "doctors running the program said that without the delay they would have had more than 10,000 on treatment in the first year," instead of the 7,300 it had at the end of March. That's a difference of at least 2700 people receiving treatment. 2700 people.
What was the reason for the delay?
"Harvard Provost Stephen E. Hyman said that during that five-month period, Summers and he were reviewing Harvard's role in the project and trying to ensure that it was properly managed."
Of particular concern, Hyman claims, was "whether the U.S. government or patients could sue Harvard for any perceived future problems." Hyman referred to a federal lawsuit against Harvard for alleged misuse of federal funds in a development grant in Russia. "That lawsuit sensitized [Summers] enormously for the need for Harvard to do this right," he said.
But as Donnelly reports, Summers spoke with Columbia president Lee Bollinger to discuss these concerns, and Bollinger spoke with Dr. Allan Rosenfeld, the dean of Columbia's school of public health. "I told [Bollinger] that I didn't think there was a large [legal] risk," Rosenfeld told Donnelly. "I don't think the university is at any greater risk than any other funder."
So we are left with an unconvincing explanation, a nagging question—what was really going on here?—and a sense of horror over the fact that thousands of people may have died due to Harvard's inaction.
Meanwhile, Larry Summers quite obviously declined to speak for this story. (If he did, it certainly wasn't on the record.)
Instead, he has shoved Stephen Hyman out in public, leaving the poor provost to twist in the wind..... Hyman may not yet realize it, but this scandal will forever taint his career. How many people will have to fall on their sword for Summers before they decide it's just not worth it any more?
