Lagos Records Highest HIV Burden as Nigeria Reports 102,025 New Infections
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, obtained by our correspondent, provides a state-by-state breakdown of newly recorded HIV infections, highlighting the continued spread of the virus despite years of intensified prevention and treatment efforts by the Federal Government and its development partners.
According to the report, Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV infections, the highest in the country during the review period.
Rivers State followed with 6,287 new cases, while Kano recorded 6,106. Other states with high infection rates include Akwa Ibom (5,413), Taraba (4,854), Benue (4,804) and Anambra (4,468).
Kaduna reported 3,659 new infections, while Adamawa (2,989) and the Federal Capital Territory (2,764) completed the list of the 10 states with the highest number of newly recorded HIV cases in 2025.
The report also showed 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 during the year.
At the lower end of the scale were Ekiti, which recorded 462 new infections, 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 fact that HIV remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria despite significant progress in expanding access to treatment and reducing AIDS-related deaths.
Nigeria operates one of the world’s largest HIV treatment programmes, with millions of people living with the virus receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy through government health facilities and donor-supported interventions.
However, public health experts have consistently warned that reducing the number of new infections remains one of the country’s biggest challenges, particularly among young people, adolescent girls and young women, infants exposed to HIV and other vulnerable populations.
To address the challenge, the Federal Government, through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), has expanded free HIV testing services, increased access to antiretroviral drugs, strengthened Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes, promoted the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among high-risk groups and intensified public awareness campaigns.
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.
Health authorities maintain that achieving these targets is critical to ending AIDS as a public health threat 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 has been made in reducing HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths worldwide, the gains remain fragile.
She noted that about 1.3 million people contracted HIV globally in 2024, stressing the need for sustained investment in prevention, testing and treatment programmes.
Earlier, during a Multistakeholder Consultation on the Global AIDS Strategy held on April 28, 2025, Byanyima cautioned that the HIV epidemic was “not over” and urged governments to strengthen domestic financing and sustain prevention programmes to prevent a resurgence of infections.
Similarly, the Director-General of NACA, Dr Temitope Ilori, has repeatedly called for increased domestic funding and stronger community-led interventions to sustain Nigeria’s HIV response.
She has maintained that expanding access to testing, treatment and prevention services, alongside strengthening the country’s health system, remains critical to reducing new infections.
Public health experts have also warned that declining international donor funding could reverse decades of progress if governments fail to increase domestic investment in HIV programmes.
According to UNAIDS, any disruption in prevention and treatment services could lead to a rise in new infections, particularly in countries with high HIV burdens such as Nigeria.
Although Nigeria has made remarkable progress in its HIV response over the past two decades, the 102,025 new infections recorded in 2025 demonstrate that the epidemic remains a significant public health concern.
The latest data further indicate that the country’s HIV burden continues to be concentrated in a few states, with Lagos, Rivers and Kano accounting for a substantial share of newly reported infections.