Nigeria has recorded a decline in new HIV infections across its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), according to fresh figures released on Wednesday by the National Data Repository (NDR).
The updated dataset, which tracks national trends over the past decade, shows that new HIV cases have dropped dramatically to 21,389 in 2026, down from 111,513 in 2025, a year-on-year reduction of more than 90 per cent.
New infections rose steadily from 228,014 in 2016 to a peak of 464,355 in 2020, before declining unevenly in subsequent years.
Annual totals stood at 237,756 in 2017; 215,231 in 2018; 27,181 in 2019; 451,402 in 2021; 330,690 in 2022; 238,748 in 2023; and 143,666 in 2024.
Despite the national improvement, Lagos and Benue states recorded the highest number of newly identified infections, with 2,342 and 1,956 cases respectively.
They were followed by Rivers (1,185), Akwa Ibom (1,155) and Anambra (1,023), and at the other end of the scale, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara posted the lowest figures nationwide.
Recent three-month surveillance data show young adults remain the most affected demographic, with females recording higher infection rates than males across almost all age brackets.
Children aged five to nine years accounted for the fewest new cases, according to the report.
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Regionally, the South West recorded the highest number of new infections at 4,628, followed by the South-South with 3,942 and the South East with 2,691.
The North East reported 2,863 cases, the North West 2,132, while the Federal Capital Territory recorded 679.
In addition, the NDR data showed a huge progress in testing and treatment as 95 per cent of people living with HIV in Nigeria now know their status.
A further 95 per cent of those diagnosed, 1,657,173 patients are receiving antiretroviral treatment across 1,997 health facilities nationwide.
And, of those on treatment, 95 per cent have achieved viral suppression, the repository stated.
Treatment coverage varies sharply by location as Benue leads with 191,225 people on treatment, followed by Akwa Ibom (142,216) and Lagos (137,006).
Sokoto (9,068) and Ekiti (12,271) recorded the lowest treatment numbers, and at a regional level, the South-South reports the highest coverage, while the North West remains the lowest.
The NDR concluded that although Nigeria is making steady progress towards the global 95-95-95 targets, persistently higher infection rates among females and in specific states underline the need for more targeted, age- and region-focused interventions.