Nigeria sees drop in HIV treatment for pregnant women

Nigeria saw a drop in antiretroviral treatment for pregnant women living with HIV in 2026.

The number of pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV who achieved viral suppression fell from 95 percent in 2025 to 79 percent in 2026. This is according to the 2026 Joint Annual Review (JAR) Statistical Book.

The report was made by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. It reviews the third year of the Health Sector Strategic Blueprint and was shared at the third Nigeria Health Sector JAR in Abuja on 10 November 2026.

The report also noted that the treatment coverage for HIV-positive pregnant women dropped from 98 percent in 2025 to 83 percent in 2026.

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the use of medicines to manage HIV infection. Viral suppression happens when treatment lowers the amount of virus in the blood to a very low level.

HIV can be passed from a mother to her child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. But with the right treatment during pregnancy and care after giving birth, this risk can be greatly reduced.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the risk of mother-to-child transmission can be between 15 to 45 percent without any interventions. It advises that women diagnosed with HIV should quickly get lifelong treatment and be supported to stay in care and achieve viral suppression.

At the National HIV Health Sector Symposium in Abuja in July 2025, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, mentioned that Nigeria still records over 9,000 new paediatric HIV infections every year.

Mr Salako urged for better access to treatment for pregnant women living with HIV, early diagnosis for HIV-exposed infants, and stronger community involvement to fight stigma.

He added that the government’s emergency status on preventing mother-to-child transmission is still active to make sure no Nigerian child is born with HIV.

The report also showed a drop in newly detected HIV cases, from 108,230 in 2025 to 70,356 in 2026. It also highlighted an increase in overall ART coverage among people living with HIV, which rose from 78 percent in 2025 to 82 percent in 2026. Viral suppression among those on treatment increased from 94 to 95 percent.

But, the number of people newly diagnosed with advanced HIV disease went up from 19,747 in 2025 to 20,162 in 2026.

These numbers show that while some national HIV indicators have improved, there are also drops in treatment coverage and viral suppression among pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The JAR Book lists the National Data Repository and National Data Reporting System as sources for its HIV indicators.