RismadarVoice Reporters, June 30, 2026
Nigeria recorded 102,025 new HIV infections across its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2025, with Lagos State accounting for the highest number of new cases, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025.
The report showed that Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV infections during the year, followed by Rivers State with 6,287 cases and Kano State with 6,106.
Akwa Ibom ranked fourth with 5,413 new infections, while Taraba recorded 4,854, Benue had 4,804, and Anambra reported 4,468 cases.
Other states with high numbers of new infections included Kaduna with 3,659, Adamawa with 2,989, and the Federal Capital Territory with 2,764, completing the top 10.
The report further indicated that Cross River (2,595), Sokoto (2,592), Abia (2,546), Imo (2,537), Delta (2,469), Borno (2,311), Ogun (2,107), Plateau (2,084), Niger (2,020) and Ebonyi (2,015) each recorded more than 2,000 new infections.
At the lower end of the scale, Ekiti recorded the fewest new cases with 462, followed by Bayelsa (982), Gombe (1,083), Osun (1,093), Kwara (1,371), Enugu (1,429), Yobe (1,483), Katsina (1,541) and Kebbi (1,572).
The figures underscore the continued burden of HIV in Nigeria despite years of expanded access to treatment, prevention programmes and sustained interventions by the Federal Government and development partners.
Nigeria operates one of the world’s largest HIV treatment programmes, with millions of people living with the virus receiving antiretroviral therapy through government health facilities and donor-supported initiatives.
However, health experts have warned that reducing new infections remains a major challenge, particularly among young people, adolescent girls, young women, infants exposed to HIV and other vulnerable populations.
In recent years, the Federal Government, through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has intensified efforts to curb the spread of the virus by expanding free HIV testing services, increasing access to antiretroviral drugs, strengthening Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes, promoting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk groups, enhancing community awareness campaigns and improving surveillance through digital health systems.
Nigeria has also adopted the global 95-95-95 targets, which aim to ensure that 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed receive sustained treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression by 2030.
Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Global AIDS Update on July 10, 2025, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima warned that although significant progress had been made globally in reducing HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths, continued investment in prevention, testing and treatment remained essential.
She noted that an estimated 1.3 million people acquired HIV worldwide in 2024 and cautioned that the epidemic remained a major global public health concern.
Similarly, NACA Director-General, Dr Temitope Ilori, has repeatedly called for increased domestic financing and stronger community-led interventions to sustain Nigeria’s HIV response amid concerns over declining international donor support.
Public health experts have also warned that reductions in donor funding could reverse decades of progress if governments fail to increase domestic investment in HIV prevention and treatment programmes.
The latest report indicates that while Nigeria has made significant progress in tackling HIV over the years, the 102,025 new infections recorded in 2025 highlight the need for sustained prevention efforts, expanded access to healthcare services and increased investment to achieve the goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
