Health
Poverty responsible for new HIV infections — Doctors
Medical doctors have attributed the rise in new Human Immunodeficiency Virus infections in Nigeria to declining donor funding, worsening poverty, and reduced awareness campaigns around the infection.
They warned that the cut in funding, poverty, and reduced awareness campaigns are threatening the country’s progress in HIV prevention and control, and could reverse years of gains made in the fight against HIV.
The physicians noted that reductions in donor funding have affected the availability of prevention programmes and testing services, while economic hardship has increased vulnerability to risky behaviours that fuel HIV transmission.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that a total of 102,025 new HIV infections were recorded across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in 2025, according to data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s State of the Health of the Nation Report 2025.
The World Health Organisation says HIV has no cure, and it is only treated with antiretroviral drugs to stop the virus from replicating in the body.
Approximately two million people are living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, based on 2024-2025 estimates from the National Agency for the Control of AIDS and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Also, over 1.7 million people living with HIV in the country are on antiretroviral therapy. With the figure, Nigeria has the world’s second-highest burden of HIV/AIDS.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the United States Government slashed its foreign aid budgets after Donald Trump took office on January 20 as the 47th US president.
Under Trump, the US government halted funding for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a global health investment introduced in 2003.
With the halt in funding for HIV response, counselling initiatives and programmes, including testing, education, and community support, have been affected in countries like Nigeria that rely heavily on foreign donors for their HIV response.
In August 2025, the United Nations Children’s Fund stated that it faces a $160 million funding gap for crucial humanitarian aid in Nigeria.
The funding crisis also took its toll on HIV treatment as hospitals in the country are currently out of much-needed test kits, and people living with HIV have lamented the rationing of their life-saving medications.
Although the Federal Government approved N4.8bn for 150,000 HIV treatment packs and allocated an additional $200m to the health budget to cushion the impact of the cuts, the effects of the funding crisis are still being felt across the country.
Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Healthwise while reacting to the 102,025 new HIV infections recorded in Nigeria, the physicians said that improved domestic funding, expanded access to prevention services, and poverty reduction efforts are essential to curbing new infections and achieving national HIV control targets.
A Tuberculosis/HIV Specialist, Dr Dan Onwujekwe, linked rising poverty to new HIV infections recorded across the country.
“One major factor is poverty. Poverty influences people’s behaviour, including preventive behaviour. The spread of infection can occur when appropriate preventive measures are not taken,” he said.
Onwujekwe, who is a former senior researcher at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, said with deepening poverty, many Nigerians are seeking healthcare in unregistered health facilities run by unqualified persons, particularly in rural areas.
According to him, in such settings, medical equipment may not be adequately sterilised, which could predispose people to several infections, including HIV.
“Some infections may be acquired under those circumstances, and HIV infection may follow a similar pattern. There is no doubt that poverty is increasing, and when poverty increases, people providing care in such settings resort to dangerous practices such as washing and reusing syringes and needles to treat patients,” he said.
He also identified sharing sharp instruments as a major risk of spreading HIV infection across the country.
Onwujekwe said, “There is also the unquantified risk associated with the use of sharp instruments in barber shops, hairdressing salons, and beauty parlours.”
He also said the cut in donor funding has significantly affected preventive measures and sensitisation on HIV.
“Whenever funding is cut, preventive healthcare services are usually the first to suffer. In fact, the 102,025 reported HIV cases may actually represent only the tip of the iceberg. Nigeria is a very large country, and the figure is probably only a fraction of the actual burden. However, that is the official figure currently available,” the HIV researcher said.
On whether Nigeria is still likely to achieve the 95-95-95 HIV targets by 2030, he said, “It is still possible, but only if we redirect resources appropriately and intensify our efforts.”
The 95-95-95 global goals seek to ensure that 95 per cent of people know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed get sustained antiretroviral therapy, and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression, effectively stopping transmission and improving health by 2030.
Viral load suppression means that the ART has lowered the amount of HIV in the blood to an undetectable level, preventing transmission and improving immune function.
Furthermore, Onwujekwe urged the government to work toward destigmatising HIV and ensure that HIV status is never used as a basis for employment discrimination as part of steps to reduce its burden in Nigeria.
“Once we successfully destigmatise HIV, more people will come forward for testing and treatment. Prevention efforts will improve, treatment outcomes will improve, and Nigeria will move much closer to achieving its HIV control targets,” he said.
Also speaking, an HIV researcher, Dr. Sule Abdullahi, identified the cut in donor funding and reduced public awareness campaign as some of the factors responsible for new HIV infections.
Abdullahi, who is an associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, said that following the 2025 policy changes by the US, many HIV-related activities have been affected in Nigeria.
“In some places, testing has been reduced because of funding constraints, and the same challenge affects access to treatment. Antiretroviral drugs have traditionally been provided free of charge through donor-supported programmes.
“If those supplies are disrupted, some patients may not receive their medications consistently. When people stop taking their drugs, their viral load increases, making transmission more likely,” Abdullahi said.
Another concern, he said, was the reduced public awareness campaigns about HIV.
“You hardly hear as much about HIV prevention today because attention has shifted to other diseases. These are some of the factors contributing to the increase in new infections,” he said.
Abdullahi said that with domestic funding, Nigeria can curb the burden of new HIV infections.
“The key question is whether adequate funding will actually be released to fill the gap left by donor support. If the government provides sufficient funding, many of these challenges can be addressed. Otherwise, reduced testing, interruptions in treatment, and weaker prevention campaigns may continue to drive new infections,” he said.
On the 95-95-95 HIV targets by 2030, he said, “It will be very difficult. If the government remains committed and invests the necessary resources, Nigeria may not completely achieve the 95-95-95 targets by 2030, but we could come very close,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to continue to protect themselves by practising safer sex.
“That includes using condoms, abstaining where appropriate, or remaining faithful to one partner. People should avoid risky sexual behaviour,” he said.
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