Health experts on Friday assured Nigerians that with the aid of science and modern technology, being diagnosed with Human Immunodeficiency Virus is no longer a death sentence.
The Chief Executive Officer of APIN Public Health Initiatives, Prof. Prosper Okonkwo, made the declaration in Abuja, during activities marking the organisation’s 25th anniversary—an event that also doubled as a reflection on how far Nigeria’s HIV response has come since the early 2000s.
Okonkwo highlighted that what was once a fatal diagnosis has become a manageable chronic condition, supported by science, access to treatment, and decades of sustained public health investment.
Recounting the grim beginnings of the epidemic response in Nigeria, the health professional painted a picture of a country overwhelmed by loss and uncertainty:
He said, “In the year 2000, a person living with HIV in Nigeria was, in most cases, living with a death sentence. There were no antiretroviral drugs widely available. There was no pathway to an undetectable viral load.
“The idea that an HIV-positive person could one day marry an HIV-negative partner and never transmit the virus was not a conversation anyone was having. An HIV-positive person was too busy trying to stay alive and hide their status from anyone to think of marriage.
“People were dying. Families were being destroyed. And the silence around it was deafening. It was into that world, at that specific moment, that APIN was born. Today, HIV is no longer a death sentence.”
According to him, the country’s HIV landscape has been transformed from those early years of crisis management.
“Today, a person living with HIV can achieve full viral suppression and live a healthy, productive life. They can have children who are born free of the virus. They can marry, work, and lead, and the virus does not have to define any of it,” Okonkwo said.
He stressed that the progress did not happen by chance, but through sustained collaboration between government, development partners, and health implementers.
“We did not arrive here by accident. We arrived here through decades of science, advocacy, investment, and programme delivery. And APIN has been part of that journey every step of the way.”
Over the past 25 years, the organisation says it has helped reshape service delivery across multiple levels of Nigeria’s health system—training healthcare workers, strengthening laboratories, and expanding access to treatment in both urban and rural communities.
APIN Director for Strategic Information, Uche Okezie, also clarified the issue of global funding, saying it is limiting the number of patients having access to antiretroviral treatment.
The pharmacist, however, assured that the National Agency for the Control of Aids is addressing the issue.
“Yes, I agree there is a challenge with the funding cut. It is a global thing, though. When you win a grant, the funding is for five years. But you are funded yearly. You will find that over 1.6m persons have been placed on antiretrovirals.
“Out of this figure, APIN alone has about 314,804 patients actively on antiretrovirals. Unlike in the past, when patients were waiting for someone to die for them to be put on the treatment list. But that is not the case now.
“Also, it is important to note that 96 per cent of the patients on ART have their viral load suppressed. In summary, let me say we have made tremendous progress and have things under control,” he said.
Earlier, in his presentation, APIN Associate Director of Strategic Information, Dr Mikhail Obaje, disclosed that no fewer than 83,289 pregnant women and children tested positive for HIV in five states and were subsequently placed on treatment as of March 2026.
Obaje identified the five states as Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau and Benue.
The medical expert stressed that the interventions supported by APIN Public Health Initiatives further highlighted both the scale of the country’s HIV burden and the gains being made in preventing mother-to-child transmission of the virus.
He said, “The data showed that 60,704 HIV-positive pregnant women were initiated on treatment, while 22,585 children were placed on antiretroviral therapy after testing positive for the virus.”
The data showed that 2,998,805 pregnant women were tested during the period, with 60,704 found to be HIV-positive and commenced on treatment to prevent transmission of the virus to their babies.
The programme also recorded significant gains in paediatric HIV services.
“Since 2016, a total of 2,512,514 children and adolescents have been tested for HIV, leading to the identification and treatment of 22,585 children living with the virus.
“Right now, we have our labs and work in five states. However, we also have our footprint in 30 states as a whole,” he stated.