This indicator measures people’s knowledge of meth­ods to prevent transmission from mother to child through antiretroviral therapy and avoidance of breastfeeding. Men‘s knowledge in this area is also important, not least because in many societies men dominate decisions about family formation and childbearing, so the indicator is constructed for both sexes. Because most behavior change communication cam­paigns in this area aim to reach women, program man­agers will want to monitor program effectiveness by disaggregating the indicator by gender.

This indicator presupposes that efforts are being made to educate women about maternal to child transmission of HIV and that information about prevention forms part of that education.

The knowledge that transmission from mother to child can be prevented is likely to shape women‘s care-seek­ing and breastfeeding behavior. A pregnant woman who simply knows that she can pass HIV on to her child is less likely to seek to know her HIV status than a preg­nant woman who knows that she can avoid transmitting HIV to her child.

In many countries in Latin America and elsewhere, the demand for prevention has driven a radical improve­ment in service provision for pregnant women with HIV. Such a demand will only arise if people know that therapy exists and can effectively reduce transmission of HIV to infants.