Data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025 showed that a total of 102,025 new HIV infections were recorded across the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory in 2025. Lagos State recorded the highest number of new cases at 10,430.
The report, received by our reporter, contains a state-by-state breakdown of newly recorded HIV infections and underscores the geographic dispersion of the pandemic even after years of enhanced preventive efforts by the federal government and its partners.
The data revealed that Lagos had the highest number of new HIV infections in 2025 with 10,430 cases, The PUNCH reports.
Rivers State recorded 6,287 new infections, followed by Kano with 6,106 cases.
Akwa Ibom recorded 5,413 new infections, followed by Taraba with 4,854, Benue with 4,804 and Anambra with 4,468 cases. Kaduna recorded 3,659 new cases, followed by Adamawa with 2,989 and the Federal Capital Territory with 2,764 new cases to complete the list of the 10 states with the greatest number of new HIV infections during the year.
Other states with more than 2,000 new infections were Sokoto (2,592), Cross River (2,595), 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).
Ekiti recorded the least with 462 new cases, followed by Bayelsa with 982, Gombe with 1,083, Osun with 1,093, Kwara with 1,371, Enugu with 1,429, Yobe with 1,483, Katsina with 1,541 and Kebbi with 1,572.
The numbers are a stark reminder that HIV remains a major public health problem in Nigeria despite years of progress in increasing access to treatment and reducing AIDS related fatalities.
Nigeria has one of the world’s largest HIV treatment programmes, with millions of individuals living with the virus on life-saving antiretroviral medicine through government-supported facilities and donor-funded efforts.
However, public health experts have continually warned that eliminating new infections remains one of the country’s greatest difficulties, particularly among young people, adolescent girls and young women, infants exposed to HIV, and important communities.
In recent years, the federal government through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of HIV by expanding free HIV testing services, increasing access to antiretroviral medicines, scaling up Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programmes, promoting pre-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk groups, strengthening community awareness campaigns and improving surveillance through digital health information systems.
The government has also pledged to the worldwide 95-95-95 targets which aim for 95 per cent of individuals living with HIV to know their HIV status, 95 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV to receive continuous therapy and 95 per cent of people on treatment to achieve viral suppression.
Health officials say meeting such goals is crucial to eradicating AIDS as a public health issue by 2030.
Speaking at the unveiling of the 2025 Global AIDS Update on 10 July 2025, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said the world has made great accomplishments in reducing HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths but the momentum is fragile.
“About 1.3 million people became infected with HIV worldwide in 2024, she said, emphasising the importance of continued investments in prevention, testing and treatment to keep the epidemic in check.
Earlier, on April 28, 2025, Byanyima warned at a Multistakeholder Consultation on the Global AIDS Strategy that HIV “is not over” and called on governments to increase domestic spending and keep up prevention efforts to avert a comeback of infections.
Similarly, NACA Director-General, Dr Temitope Ilori, has underlined repeatedly the need for increased domestic financing and community-led interventions to sustain Nigeria’s HIV response.
In several engagements in 2025, she said Nigeria was committed to reducing new HIV infections by providing better access to testing, treatment and preventive programs while shoring up the country’s health infrastructure.
Public health experts have also cautioned that diminishing international donor financing might erode decades of progress if governments fail to enhance domestic investment in HIV programmes.
According to UNAIDS, pauses in preventive efforts could lead to a spike in new infections, particularly in countries with high HIV loads such as Nigeria.
Nigeria has achieved huge progress compared to past decades, but the 102,025 new cases documented in 2025 show that the epidemic is far from ending.
Latest data point to the fact that the country’s HIV load is still concentrated in a handful of states, with Lagos, Rivers and Kano accounting for a significant share of newly reported cases.
About the Author
