Health Agencies Warn Of HIV Surge As Nigeria Records 45,000 New Infections

Nigeria has intensified efforts to prevent new HIV infections, with the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) urging Nigerians, particularly young people, to embrace HIV prevention tools, regular testing, safer sexual practices and treatment adherence.
The call was made on Thursday in Lagos during a national training for journalists and social media influencers on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) organised by NACA in collaboration with WHO.
The organisers said accurate public information was critical to countering misinformation, stigma and misconceptions that could undermine HIV prevention efforts.
NACA Director-General, Dr Temitope Ilori, said Nigeria recorded about 45,000 new HIV infections in the past year, with rising infections among young people remaining a major concern.
Ilori warned that misinformation and declining condom use were among the challenges requiring urgent action, stressing that although HIV has no cure, effective prevention and treatment options are available.
“So this is just to emphasise the fact that as of today, there is no cure for HIV,” she said, while encouraging Nigerians to take advantage of available prevention options, including oral PrEP, injectable PrEP and condoms.
She explained that oral PrEP is taken daily, while long-acting injectable cabotegravir is administered every two months. She also highlighted lenacapavir (LEN PrEP), a long-acting injectable administered every six months, as a major development in HIV prevention.
NACA has been working with partners to expand access to long-acting PrEP. WHO reported that Nigeria had assessed more than 70 public health facilities across 10 states for injectable PrEP readiness, with the intervention designed to reach people at substantial risk of HIV infection.
Ilori clarified that LEN PrEP remains under a pilot programme in Nigeria and is currently being provided free through participating facilities rather than being commercially sold.
She urged Nigerians to know their HIV status and encouraged people living with HIV to remain on treatment.
“We need people to know their status. We need people to get tested. We need people that are positive to access medication and to stay on medications,” she said.
She called on young people to practise abstinence where possible, remain faithful to one partner and use condoms during sexual intercourse.
Also speaking, Dr Olufunke Oduwale, WHO Technical Officer for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STI at the WHO Country Office in Nigeria, explained that PrEP prevents HIV from establishing itself in the body following exposure.
Oduwale stressed that adherence is essential, warning that PrEP must be taken according to the prescribed schedule to provide effective protection.
She urged Nigerians to combine HIV prevention with protection against other sexually transmitted infections, including syphilis, gonorrhoea and chlamydia, and advocated integrated services through which people can access HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria and sexual and reproductive health services during the same visit.
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