Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Nigeria recorded a total of 102,025 new HIV infections across its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2025, with Lagos State accounting for the highest number of new cases at 10,430, according to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025. The report, which was obtained by multiple news outlets on June 30, 2026, provides a comprehensive state-by-state breakdown of newly reported HIV infections, highlighting the continued geographical concentration of the epidemic despite years of expanded prevention, testing, and treatment interventions.
According to the data, Lagos State recorded the highest number of new HIV infections in 2025 with 10,430 cases. Rivers State followed with 6,287 new infections, while Kano recorded 6,106 cases. Akwa Ibom reported 5,413 new infections, Taraba had 4,854, Benue recorded 4,804, and Anambra accounted for 4,468 cases. Kaduna registered 3,659 new infections, while Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory recorded 2,989 and 2,764 cases, respectively, completing the list of the ten states with the highest number of new HIV infections during the year.
Other states recording more than 2,000 new infections included 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). At the lower end of the scale were Ekiti with 462 new infections, 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.
Public health experts have noted that the figures should be read carefully. The report refers to new HIV infections recorded in 2025, not necessarily the total number of people living with HIV in each state. Previous HIV burden estimates have placed Rivers, Benue, and Akwa Ibom among the states with the highest total number of persons living with HIV, with Lagos also remaining a major concern because of its large population and urban density. Lagos carries one of the country's largest HIV treatment burdens, with about 137,000 people currently receiving antiretroviral therapy through government-supported health facilities and partner programmes.
Nationally, HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 is estimated at about 2.1 per cent. The South-South region has the highest prevalence at 3.1 per cent, followed by the North-Central zone at 2.0 per cent, while the North-West has the lowest prevalence at 0.6 per cent. Benue remains the state with the highest estimated adult HIV prevalence at about 5.7 per cent, followed by Rivers at 5.2 per cent, Akwa Ibom at 3.5 per cent, Edo at 3.4 per cent, and Taraba at 3.0 per cent.
The latest figures underscore that HIV remains one of Nigeria's most significant public health challenges despite notable progress in expanding access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy and reducing AIDS-related deaths. Nigeria currently operates one of the world's largest HIV treatment programmes, supported by the Federal Government alongside international development partners, with millions of people living with HIV receiving antiretroviral treatment through public health facilities nationwide.
In recent years, the Federal Government, through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and other partners, has intensified efforts to curb new infections by expanding free HIV testing services, scaling up Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission programmes, promoting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk groups, strengthening community awareness campaigns, and improving surveillance through digital health information systems. The government has also adopted the global 95-95-95 targets, aimed at ensuring 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.
However, public health experts have warned that maintaining progress will require increased domestic funding, sustained public awareness campaigns, and improved access to prevention services, particularly in high-burden states such as Lagos, to reduce the number of new infections and move the country closer to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Health authorities say achieving these targets is essential to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
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