Geographical Distribution of HIV/AIDS In Nigeria

Nigeria-
Akwa Ibom 5.6%  Benue 4.9%  Rivers 3.8%
Taraba 2.7%  Anambra 2.4% Enugu 2.1%
Abia 2.1%  Delta 1.9% Nassarawa 1.9% Edo 1.8%  Bayelsa1.8% Cross  River 1.7% Imo 1.6% Plateau 1.5%  FCT1.5% Lagos 1.3% Borno 1.3%
Adamawa 1.3% Ogun 1.2% Gombe 1.2%
Kaduna 1.0% Kogi 1.0% Kwara 1.0% Ondo 0.9%
Osun 0.9% Oyo 0.9% Ebonyi 0.8%  Niger0.7%
Ekiti 0.7% Kebbi 0.6% Kano 0.5% Zamfara 0.5%
Yobe 0.4%  Bauchi0.4% Sokoto 0.4%
Jigawa 0.3% Katsina 0.3%

HIV prevalence rate according to Zones.

Zones HIV prevalence (%)

South-South 3.1

South-East 1.9

South-West 1.2

North-Central 2.1

North-West 0.6

North-East 1.1

National Prevalence Rate: 1.4%.

While Nigeria’s national HIV prevalence is 1.4% among adults aged 15–49 years, women aged 15–49 years are more than twice as likely to be living with HIV than men (1.9% versus 0.9%.) The difference in HIV prevalence between women and men is greatest among younger adults, with young women aged 20–24 years more than three times as likely to be living with HIV as young men in the same age group. Among children aged 0–14 years, HIV prevalence according to the new data is 0.2%. Significant efforts have been made in recent years to stop new HIV infections among children.

Analysis/Breakdown by States and Regions.

1. Akwa Ibom has the highest number of people living with HIV in Nigeria, at 5.6 percent, while Rivers state come a close second, at 4.9 percent. In fact, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Rivers, and Taraba have consistently been in the top four in the past 10 years.

2.Two South-south states (Always Ibom and Rivers) are among the three states with the highest HIV prevalence rate in Nigeria.

3. Jigawa and Katsina has the least HIV prevalence in 2019 with a value of 0.3% each.

4. The North-West has the lowest AIDS prevalence rate at 0.6 per cent, while the South-South geopolitical zone has the highest at 3.1 per cent.

5. According to the Nigeria Agency for the control of AIDS (NACA), the South-south zone of the country (Niger Delta) has the highest HIV prevalence, at 3.1 per cent among adults. HIV prevalence is also high in the North-central zone with 2.1 per cent and in the South-east zone, 1.9 per cent.

6. The three regions with lower prevalence rate are the South-west – 1.2 percent, North-east – 1.1 per cent, and the North-west zone – 0.6 per cent.

7. HIV prevalence rate in South-south (3.1%), South-east (1.9%) and North – central (2.1%) is more than the national prevalence of 1.4%

8. Nigeria has made great progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS, from 3.2 million people living with HIV, it has dropped to 1.9 million persons as at 2019. Also from a prevalence of 3.2 percent in 2004, it has declined to 1.4 percent in 2019 (a 1.8% difference).

Nigeria has made steady progress on increasing access to treatment for people living with HIV, with the adoption of a test and treat policy in 2016. This measure has further accelerated referrals to treatment facilities for people who test positive for the virus. From 2010 to 2017, the country almost tripled the number of people living with HIV having access to antiretroviral therapy, up from 360 000 people in 2010 to more than 1 million people in 2018. However, the new estimates released today indicate that more than half of people living with HIV still do not have suppressed viral loads.

The fight against HIV in Nigeria must be sustained by not only government, but by everybody. Contribute your quota to reducing the negative HIV statistics in Nigeria. We can do much more.

Source: Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria