LAGOS, Nigeria – Adolescents and young adults’ refusal to adhere to HIV testing and treatment remains a major barrier to Nigeria’s target of eliminating the disease by 2030, Dr. Agatha David, Director of Research at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), has warned.
Speaking at the institute’s monthly media briefing in Lagos on Wednesday, David revealed that this age group records the worst treatment outcomes, with 40 per cent of new HIV infections occurring among them.
“Adolescents and young adults are one of the major problems for achieving the 2030 goal for the elimination of HIV in the country,” she said.
Highlighting the gaps in testing, David disclosed that HIV testing rates among Nigerian adolescents and young adults remain below 25 per cent.
She cited NIMR’s studies which uncovered “astonishing figures of new HIV cases amongst these adolescents and young adults,” stressing that even those enrolled in care often abandon their drugs, thereby fuelling transmission.
“The ones we reached and enrolled into care for various reasons do not use their drugs, this makes the chain of transmission to be high and that’s why this age group is of concern globally, not just in Nigeria,” she explained.
David further underscored the urgent need for comprehensive sexuality education, stronger mental health support, and intensified parental and community involvement.
She emphasized Nigeria’s obligation to meet the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets, calling them a “lifeline” for the country’s HIV elimination agenda.
“Many studies from across the country have shown that when you ask young people about their HIV status, approximately 23 per cent will say they have never tested for the disease,” she noted, while urging that NIMR’s findings be translated into national policy to strengthen prevention and treatment efforts
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