Abeokuta, Ogun State – November 2025
In a powerful demonstration of political will and sustained investment in public health, the Ogun State Government has announced that it is now providing free, lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) to more than 300,000 residents living with HIV. The disclosure was made yesterday during the state’s 2025 World AIDS Day commemoration, where health officials presented an optimistic yet candid assessment of the battle against HIV/AIDS in one of Nigeria’s most educationally vibrant and industrially active states.
Delivering the keynote address, the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker, described the journey from a once-daunting epidemic to a manageable public health condition as nothing short of remarkable. “We have strengthened our response and dramatically improved access to life-saving services,” she declared. “Today, 96 per cent of citizens in Ogun State know their HIV status, while 78 per cent of those diagnosed are already on treatment. More than 30,000 people are currently receiving free antiretroviral drugs in our facilities, and we are scaling up rapidly toward a target of 40,309 residents on sustained treatment.”
Antiretroviral therapy, a daily combination of medicines that suppresses the HIV virus and stops its progression to AIDS, has transformed HIV from a death sentence into a chronic but manageable illness when taken consistently. The fact that Ogun State now funds and delivers this treatment free of charge to hundreds of thousands of citizens represents one of the most ambitious state-level HIV responses in Nigeria.
Dr. Coker highlighted several milestones that have brought the state within striking distance of the global 95-95-95 targets (95% of people living with HIV knowing their status, 95% of those diagnosed on treatment, and 95% of those on treatment achieving viral suppression) well ahead of the 2030 deadline:
- HIV testing and counselling services have been decentralised and are now available in all 20 Local Government Areas, bringing voluntary testing closer to rural and peri-urban communities.
- The Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme has been significantly strengthened, resulting in a sharp rise in HIV-free births across the state.
- 96% of the population now knows their status – a figure that places Ogun among Nigeria’s top performers in epidemic control.
The Commissioner also drew attention to an emerging policy shift that could have far-reaching implications for adolescents and young adults. At the recently concluded National Council on Health, stakeholders deliberated on lowering the age of consent for voluntary HIV testing from 15 to 14 years without mandatory parental permission. “This is particularly critical for Ogun State,” Dr. Coker emphasised, “because we are the tertiary education capital of Nigeria. Thousands of young people arrive here from across the country for university, polytechnic, and college education. Early, stigma-free access to testing can protect an entire generation.”
She commended the Ogun State Agency for the Control of AIDS (OGSACA), implementing partners, and frontline health workers for their “unwavering commitment” that has driven these gains. Looking ahead, the state has unveiled an ambitious two-year HIV Strategic Plan (2025–2027) anchored on five pillars:
- Elimination of mother-to-child transmission by 2030
- Strengthening of primary and secondary health systems to deliver integrated HIV services
- Promotion of genuine community ownership and leadership of the response
- Sustainability through increased domestic resource mobilisation and reduced donor dependency
- Enhanced data collection and real-time analytics for evidence-based programming
Despite the progress, Dr. Coker was forthright about remaining threats. New infections continue to occur, particularly among key populations and young women. Stigma and discrimination still drive some individuals underground, while global funding for HIV has been declining for several years, causing disruptions in supply chains and prevention programmes.
Joining the Commissioner on the podium, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Health, Dr. Rotimi Ogungbe, called for intensified advocacy and an honest appraisal of challenges. He identified chronic underfunding and the gradual exit of international donor agencies as the most pressing obstacles to achieving zero new infections and zero AIDS-related deaths.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Kayode Oladeinde, used the occasion to urge a paradigm shift from perpetual donor reliance to “internalisation, institutionalisation, and localisation” of the HIV response. “World AIDS Day is not just a commemoration,” he said. “It is a reminder that the solutions we seek already lie within our communities, our budgets, and our collective resolve.”
As red ribbons fluttered across Abeokuta and awareness walks took place in all 20 local government headquarters, the message from Ogun State was clear: with political commitment, strategic investment, and community participation, even a decades-old epidemic can be brought to its knees.
The state government has therefore extended an open call to traditional rulers, faith-based organisations, civil society groups, the private sector, and development partners to redouble efforts and collaborate in driving prevalence to the barest minimum – and ultimately toward the complete elimination of AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
In a country where many states still struggle to meet even the first “95”, Ogun’s announcement of free ART for over 300,000 citizens stands as both an achievement to celebrate and a challenge to the rest of Nigeria: when governments prioritise health, epidemics can be defeated.
