The gendered micropolitics of hiding and disclosing: assessing the spread and stagnation of information on two new EMTCT policies in a Malawian village.

Analysing why certain information spreads-or not-can be highly relevant for understanding an intervention's potential impact. Two recently implemented policy changes related to EMTCT (elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV) in the Balaka district of Malawi give ample opportunity to assess how new information trickles through a targeted rural community. One of the policies entails the lifetime provision of ART (anti-retroviral therapy) to all HIV+ pregnant women-a governmental strategy to EMTCT first initiated in Malawi and now being expanded throughout the region.