Condom Distribution in Nigeria Drops by 55% as Global HIV Response Faces Major Setback — UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) has revealed that condom distribution in Nigeria fell by 55 per cent over the past year, signalling a troubling decline in HIV prevention efforts.
Releasing its 2025 World AIDS Day report titled Overcoming Disruption, Transforming the AIDS Response, UNAIDS warned that the global fight against HIV is experiencing its most severe setback in decades.
According to the agency, Nigeria’s decline reflects wider disruptions to HIV prevention, testing, and community-led programmes globally. Across 13 countries, fewer people are being newly initiated on treatment, underscoring the strain on health systems.
UNAIDS also reported that 450,000 women in sub-Saharan Africa have lost access to “mother mentors,” trusted community workers who connect pregnant women and young mothers to vital care.
The agency attributed the setbacks to abrupt funding cuts and worsening human rights conditions across several countries, cautioning that these challenges threaten years of progress.
“The funding crisis has exposed the fragility of the progress we fought so hard to achieve,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Behind every data point are people—babies missed for HIV screening, young women cut off from prevention support, and communities suddenly left without services. We cannot abandon them.”
Even before the disruptions, adolescent girls and young women remained disproportionately affected, with 570 new infections recorded daily among females aged 15 to 24.
“This is our moment to choose,” Byanyima added. “We can allow these shocks to undo decades of gains, or we can unite behind the shared vision of ending AIDS. Millions of lives depend on the choices we make today.”
The report warns that dismantled prevention systems leave young women even more vulnerable, and that community-led organisations described as the backbone of HIV outreach are struggling. More than 60 per cent of women-led groups have suspended essential services due to lack of funding.
UNAIDS modelling shows that failure to restore prevention programmes could result in an additional 3.3 million new HIV infections between 2025 and 2030.
International assistance is also shrinking. OECD projections show that global health funding could fall by 30 to 40 per cent in 2025 compared with 2023, a trend severely affecting low- and middle-income countries with high HIV burdens.
UNAIDS urged world leaders to renew commitments to global solidarity, uphold human rights, invest in innovative prevention tools, and strengthen community-led responses. The agency also emphasised the need to sustain and increase HIV funding, in line with commitments made at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in South Africa.