The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) said yesterday that Nigeria recorded about 45,000 new HIV infections in 2025.
The agency attributed the development partly to inadequate prevention information among young people.
Its Director-General, Dr Temitope Ilori, said during the opening of a two-day workshop for media executives on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Lagos that although new infections had been on the decline, recent figures indicated the need to intensify prevention efforts, particularly among young Nigerians.
The workshop, organised by NACA in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), was designed to strengthen media professionals’ capacity to accurately report and communicate information on HIV prevention.
Ilori said:’Last year we had about 45,000 new infections because it’s reported across the federation.
”I’m happy to say that it is declining but recent times, we’re beginning to see some new figures popping up, and it’s because, particularly among our young people, they do not have the right information about HIV.’
She said NACA decided to engage journalists, social media influencers and other media officials to improve HIV information available to the public.
‘We’re still gathering information regarding this year, and therefore AIDS is real, HIV is real, people come down with HIV, but the good news is that it’s not a death sentence,’ Ilori said.
She stressed that HIV has no cure but can be effectively treated and prevented through several options, including PrEP, condoms, abstinence and mutual faithfulness.
‘We don’t want to emphasise medicalisation of PrEP,’ Ilori said
Ilori said PrEP, intended for HIV-negative people at higher risk of infection ,is not a universal medication.
‘We are not saying every Nigerian should use PREP, but we’re saying those that are most at risk, most vulnerable to contracting HIV will have this option of using PREP and staying safe,’ she said.
She said LEN-PrEP remained in pilot implementation in selected states and was not yet commercially available.
‘It is not available on the market because, as we said, it’s still a pilot study. We are working together with partners, donor partners, international partners, to bring in these injections into the country,’ Ilori added.
According to her, the injectable PrEP, provided under the pilot programme, is free.
WHO Technical Officer for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STI, Dr Oluwafunke Odunlade, said PrEP uses antiretroviral drugs to prevent HIV from establishing infection when taken correctly by an HIV-negative person.
She stressed that people must test for HIV before starting PrEP because those already living with the virus require treatment rather than PrEP.