A total of 102,025 new HIV infections were recorded across Nigeria’s 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 data obtained from 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 and highlights the geographical distribution of the epidemic despite years of intensified prevention efforts by the Federal Government and its partners.
The data showed that Lagos 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 10 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.
The figures underscore that HIV remains a significant public health challenge in Nigeria despite years of progress in expanding access to treatment and reducing AIDS-related deaths.
Nigeria is home to one of the largest HIV treatment programmes in the world, with millions of people living with the virus receiving life-saving antiretroviral therapy through government-supported facilities and donor-funded interventions.
However, public health experts have consistently warned that reducing new infections remains one of the country’s greatest challenges, particularly among young people, adolescent girls and young women, infants exposed to HIV, and key populations.
In recent years, the Federal Government, working through the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, has intensified 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.
