ABC

He thought he was up-to-date on all the latest wine lingo until a longtime wine writer returned his sample request card with a bold, hand-written note on it that stated, “Send me all samples—ABC!” ¶ “ABC” threw my friend for a loop. When he called me, I translated the cryptic phrase—ABC is winespeak for “Anything But Chardonnay.”

A final example of the iatrogenic effects of international public interventions is the impact on condom use that resulted from the “ABC” (Abstinence, Be Faithful, Use Condoms) approach to AIDS prevention, which has dominated programmatic efforts in Nigeria since about 2000. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), created under US President George W. Bush's administration, promoted a conservative approach to AIDS prevention through its ABC messages, which were (1) abstinence is the only true prevention; (2) if one is in a sexual relationship, stay faithful to one partner; and (3) if one can't do either, use condoms.