Lagos Records Highest HIV Cases as Nigeria Logs 102,025 New Infections in 2025

By Victor Idajili

Nigeria recorded 102,025 new HIV infections in 2025, and Lagos State led with the highest number of cases, according to the Federal Ministry of Health’s _State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025_. 

The ministry’s data, obtained by our correspondent, shows how new infections are spread across the 36 states and the FCT despite years of expanded testing, treatment, and prevention campaigns. 

Lagos topped the list with 10,430 new infections. 

It was followed by:- Rivers: 6,287,Kano: 6,106,Akwa Ibom: 5,413 Taraba: 4,854,Benue: 4,804,Anambra: 4,468 
Kaduna: 3,659 Adamawa: 2,989,FCT: 2,764 

Eighteen other states reported more than 2,000 cases each, including Sokoto, Cross River, Abia, Imo, Delta, Borno, Ogun, Plateau, Niger, and Ebonyi. 

The lowest numbers came from Ekiti with 462, Bayelsa with 982, Gombe with 1,083, Osun with 1,093, and Kwara with 1,371. 

The figures show HIV is still a major public health challenge. Nigeria runs one of the world’s largest antiretroviral treatment programmes, with millions on life-saving drugs through government and donor support. 

But experts say cutting new infections is still the hardest part. Young people, adolescent girls, infants exposed to HIV, and key populations remain most at risk. 

To tackle this, the Federal Government, through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, has scaled up free testing, antiretroviral access, Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission, PrEP for high-risk groups, and community awareness. Nigeria is also pursuing the global 95-95-95 targets: 95% of people living with HIV know their status, 95% of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 95% achieve viral suppression. Health authorities say meeting these targets is key to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. 

At the July 10, 2025 launch of the _Global AIDS Update_, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said progress is fragile. About 1.3 million people got HIV worldwide in 2024, and she stressed that prevention, testing, and treatment funding must not slip. 

NACA Director-General, Dr. Temitope Ilori, has made the same point for Nigeria: stronger domestic funding and community-led action are needed to keep new infections down. Experts also warn that shrinking international donor support could reverse gains if government investment doesn’t fill the gap. 

With 102,025 new infections last year, and Lagos, Rivers, and Kano accounting for a large share, the data makes it clear: HIV is not over in Nigeria. The burden remains concentrated in a few high-population states, and sustained prevention will determine whether the country hits its 2030 goal.