Nigeria is facing a sharp decline in access to one of the most essential HIV-prevention tools, as new global data show a 55 percent drop in condom distribution in the country over the past year. The figure, released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, signals a worsening setback in worldwide efforts to control HIV infections.
The figures were contained in the agency’s latest World AIDS Day 2025 report titled Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, unveiled on Tuesday in Geneva. The document paints a troubling picture of a global response under pressure, noting that prevention, testing, and community-led support systems are slipping in several regions.
According to the report, 13 countries have recorded drops in the number of people newly placed on treatment. In sub-Saharan Africa, the strain is already visible. An estimated 450,000 women in the region have lost access to “mother mentors”, community health workers who play a vital role in linking pregnant women and new mothers to lifesaving HIV care.
UNAIDS said abrupt funding cuts, along with deteriorating human rights conditions in some countries, are weakening prevention and treatment systems at a dangerous pace. The agency’s Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima, warned that the gains recorded over the years are at risk.
“The funding crisis has exposed the fragility of the progress we fought so hard to achieve,” she said. “Behind every data point in this report are people. Babies missed for HIV screening, young women cut off from prevention support, and communities suddenly left without services and care. We cannot abandon them.”
The report highlights that adolescent girls and young women continue to carry a disproportionate burden. Before the current disruptions, an average of 570 new HIV infections were recorded daily among females aged 15 to 24. With prevention programmes now struggling, the risk for this group is rising further.
Community-led organisations are also under strain. UNAIDS noted that more than 60 percent of women-led groups in the HIV response have suspended essential services due to financial constraints, putting vulnerable populations at greater risk.
Fresh modelling by the agency warns that if prevention efforts are not restored, the world could face 3.3 million additional HIV infections between 2025 and 2030. The report links the crisis directly to declining international assistance. Projections from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development show that global health funding could drop by 30 to 40 percent in 2025 compared with 2023.
“The impact has been immediate and severe, especially in low- and middle-income countries highly affected by HIV,” UNAIDS said in the report.
The agency called on world leaders to recommit to promises made at the G20 Summit in South Africa. It urged governments to strengthen global solidarity, increase funding for countries that depend heavily on external support, invest in affordable long-acting prevention tools, and protect human rights as community networks remain central to the fight against HIV.
In a separate insight into sexual health behaviour in the country, NOI Polls had earlier reported that 72 percent of Nigerians do not use condoms regularly, raising concerns about behavioural risks even before supply shortages began.
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