NACA Warns Against Unauthorized HIV Data on Social Media
The National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has warned the public to disregard unauthorized HIV data circulating on social media, calling the figures misleading and taken out of context. In a statement signed by Director-General Temitope Ilori and sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, NACA said a widely shared post from Instablog on 1 April claiming 20,838 new HIV infections in Nigeria for Q1 2026 did not follow official protocols for data request, validation, and dissemination. The post listed Lagos and Benue as having the highest cases, alongside Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Anambra, Kaduna, and Kano, with lower numbers in Ekiti, Sokoto, and Yobe. NACA explained that HIV positivity from routine testing in health facilities is not a valid measure of prevalence or incidence and cannot be used to rank state burden, as such figures are influenced by population size, testing coverage, and reporting differences. The agency stressed that only authorised government health institutions have the mandate to generate, interpret, and release HIV data, and urged the public to disregard the circulating publication and submit formal requests to NACA for accurate information. Meanwhile, Nigeria received its first shipment of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable PrEP drug, in March 2026 under the National AIDS, Viral Hepatitis and STIs Control Programme, with about 179,700 doses expected by 2028 through Global Fund support to expand HIV prevention efforts.