Nigeria reports 15,000 AIDS-related deaths annually: Official

Nigeria continues to grapple with a high number of AIDS-related deaths, with at least 15,000 fatalities recorded each year, despite government efforts to curb the spread of the disease, a local official revealed on Thursday.

Temitope Ilori, the head of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), made the announcement during an advocacy and sensitization event in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun state in southwestern Nigeria. Ilori disclosed that over 22,000 new cases of HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, have been reported in the country this year.

“Approximately 140,000 children between the ages of 0 to 14 are currently living with HIV,” Ilori added, highlighting the ongoing challenge the country faces in managing the disease. She pointed to the surge in HIV prevalence rates, particularly among the younger population.

Despite the ongoing efforts to combat the epidemic, Nigeria still struggles with preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which remains a significant hurdle in the national response to the disease.

According to official data, in 2023 alone, Nigeria recorded 75,000 new HIV infections and 45,000 deaths related to HIV/AIDS.