AS Nigeria joins governments, partners and communities across the globe to observe World AIDS Day 2025 with the theme "Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response," it should be a pertinent reminder of the need for a firm commitment and stronger cooperation to end AIDS by 2030.
The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention defines AIDS as the most advanced stage of HIV infection, marked by severe immune system damage.
This typically occurs when a person's CD4 cell count falls below 200 cells/mm³ or when they develop an AIDS-defining illness. Despite scientific breakthroughs, HIV remains a major public health challenge.
The global statistics paint a rather grim picture. The latest UNICEF-UNAIDS modelling report showed that globally, 120,000 children (zero-14 years) acquired HIV, and another 75,000 children died of AIDS-related causes, which is about 200 deaths every day in 2024. This is sobering.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS estimated that last year, 40.8 million people were living with HIV worldwide. That same year, approximately 630,000 people died from HIV-related causes, while 1.3 million people acquired the virus.
Nigeria is not exempt from this burden. According to the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, the country records an estimated 1,400 new HIV infections every week, alongside 50,000 AIDS-related deaths annually as of 2023.
As of 2021, Nigeria had 1.9 million people living with HIV, with Statista placing the number of AIDS-related deaths at about 51,000, the highest toll recorded among adult women.
These figures underscore the urgent need to strengthen health systems and expand access to life-saving treatment.
The drivers of new infections are well known. Individuals can contract HIV through unprotected anal or vaginal sex with an infected person, or through sharing needles, syringes, and other drug-injection equipment.
Mothers can transmit the virus to their babies during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. While there is still no cure for HIV, access to prevention, testing, treatment, and care, including management of opportunistic infections, has transformed HIV into a manageable chronic condition for millions.
HIV attacks the body's white blood cells, weakening the immune system and making people vulnerable to severe infections such as tuberculosis, cryptococcal meningitis, serious bacterial diseases, and cancers like lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma.
Symptoms vary by stage: early infection may go unnoticed or present like the flu, while later stages may include chronic fever, weight loss, diarrhoea, cough, and swollen lymph nodes. Without treatment, the consequences can be fatal.
Global institutions such as the WHO, the Global Fund, and UNAIDS continue to align their strategies to achieve SDG target 3.3, aiming to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
The world has adopted the strategic target of ensuring that 95 per cent of all people living with HIV should know their status; 95 per cent of those diagnosed should be on antiretroviral therapy; and 95 per cent of those on treatment should achieve viral suppression.
According to the WHO, in 2024, the global response achieved 87 per cent, 89 per cent, and 94 per cent, respectively. While this might indicate progress, it is still short of the 2025 goal. Nigeria must not lag in these targets. The path to this goal might be narrowing, but it is not too late.
The government needs to understand that ending AIDS is achievable, but only with political will, consistent funding, and community-centred solutions. There is a need to confront stigma attached to HIV, strengthen primary healthcare, ensure that the rights and dignity of people living with HIV are protected, and that they have uninterrupted access to antiretroviral therapy.
On this World AIDS Day, Nigeria must renew its commitment to an AIDS-free future; a country where no child is born with HIV, no life is cut short due to lack of treatment, and no community is left behind.