Nigeria recorded 102,025 new HIV infections in 2025, with Lagos State accounting for the highest number of newly reported cases, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025.
The report revealed that Lagos recorded 10,430 new HIV infections, making it the state with the highest burden of new cases during the year. Rivers State followed with 6,287 cases, while Kano State recorded 6,106 new infections.
Other states with high numbers of newly reported HIV infections include Akwa Ibom (5,413), Taraba (4,854), Benue (4,804), Anambra (4,468), Kaduna (3,659), Adamawa (2,989) and the Federal Capital Territory (2,764).
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 period.
At the lower end of the scale, Ekiti recorded 462 new infections, the lowest among the states, 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 highlight that HIV remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria despite years of expanded access to treatment and prevention programmes.
The country continues to operate one of the world’s largest HIV treatment programmes, with millions of people receiving free antiretroviral therapy through government-supported health facilities and donor-funded initiatives.Health experts have, however, warned that preventing new infections remains one of the country’s biggest challenges, particularly among young people, adolescent girls, young women, infants exposed to HIV and other vulnerable populations.
To reduce the spread of the virus, the Federal Government has expanded free HIV testing services, improved access to antiretroviral medication, strengthened prevention of mother-to-child transmission programmes, increased the availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk groups and intensified community awareness campaigns.
Nigeria has also aligned with 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 treatment and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression by 2030.
Meanwhile, global health experts have cautioned that progress against HIV remains fragile. They warn that declining international donor support and disruptions to prevention programmes could reverse years of achievements, particularly in countries with high HIV burdens such as Nigeria.
The latest statistics suggest that while significant progress has been made in HIV treatment and care, the epidemic remains a pressing public health concern, with Lagos, Rivers and Kano accounting for a substantial share of new infections reported nationwide in 2025.
#HIV #Nigeria #Lagos #PublicHealth #Healthcare #AIDSAwareness #HealthNews #Prevention #FederalMinistryOfHealth #NACA
