AN X user, @Osi_Suave, has claimed that Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infections in the world, adding that the West African nation is one of the four countries with over 10,000 new pediatric HIV infections per annum globally.
@Osi_Suave made the claim following the withdrawal of Chidimma Adetshina from the Miss South Africa pageant reportedly due to xenophobic attacks, as many Nigerians on X (formerly Twitter) lashed out at both the organisers of the beauty pageant and South Africa citizens online.
Part of Osi’s post read:
“…(sic) Globally, Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infections As well as being one of four countries with over 10,000 new pediatric HIV infections per annum “…(sic).”
His comment on the X platform has triggered widespread reactions about the prevalence rates of HIV infections in Africa, and particularly Nigeria.
The FactCheckHub has debunked many health misinformation previously. You can read them here.
CLAIM 1
Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infections globally.
THE FINDINGS
Checks show that the claim is FALSE.
Despite the reported huge investment to fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS, it remains one of the global public health concerns. It is a virus that is transmitted through body fluids of an infected person, including blood, breast milk, semen and vagina fluids. HIV has claimed the lives of at least 42.3 million people to date, according to data from the World Health Organization.
However, study has shown that global HIV cases are relatively different between countries and regions though predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa region. Clearly, the region records more than 70 percent of the global burden of HIV infections. According to a 2012 UNAIDS’ global report, Sub-Saharan Africa remains most severely affected.
For example, Nigeria topped the chart as the second highest burden of HIV/AIDS in 2015, according to UNICEF. Also, UNAIDS’ Global AIDS Monitoring published in 2018 reported the same thing, with about 3.6 million people infected as at then. Only from 2021, Nigeria ceased to have the highest prevalence rates of HIV among other African countries.
According to an analysis by Data Panda, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) holds the highest HIV rate, with 26.8% of its adults living with HIV. Data Panda says HIV is concentrated mainly in Africa with countries such as Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, and Zimbabwe showing higher prevalence rates than Nigeria.
Also, the latest data by Statista in 2024 says, countries with the highest rates of HIV globally include Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa. Nigeria is no longer among the top three! Per this report, Eswatini has the highest prevalence of HIV with a rate of 22.8 percent followed by Lesotho (21.9%), and South Africa (13.6%). Contrary to the first claim, Nigeria does not have the second-largest burden of HIV infections globally.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria has the second-largest burden of HIV infections globally is FALSE; data show Eswatini, Lesotho, and South Africa top the list of countries with the highest HIV prevalence rates globally.
CLAIM 2
Nigeria is one of the four countries with over 10,000 new pediatric HIV infections per annum globally.
THE FINDINGS
Checks show that the claim is MOSTLY TRUE.
In every country, children are also vulnerable to HIV. They can contract the virus either through breast milk from an infected mother or during pregnancy, a process known as Mother-to-Child-Transmission (MTCT). In 2020, a child was infected with HIV every two minutes, as reported here by UNICEF.
Recently, a document that offers a snapshot of HIV infections among children in 2023 was published by the Global Alliance, a collaborative effort by some organisations to support women living with HIV and their families.
Globally, 44 percent of all new HIV infections were among women and girls of all ages in 2023, says UNAIDS. But in July 2023, the Global Alliance reported that an estimated 1.4 million children were living with HIV including 930,000 in the Global Alliance Countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Around 2017, Nigeria had an MTCT rate of 26.9% and was one of four countries with over 10,000 new pediatric HIV. Even in a 2020 report seen here, Nigeria has the largest number of new infections among children globally. Aside that, there is no latest updates about the rates of pediatric HIV infections in Nigeria yet.
However, the Nigerian Government has began a Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission and Paediatric HIV Scale-Up Acceleration programme across the country. This was after statistics revealed that an estimated 170,000 children under 14 are living with HIV in Nigeria.
THE VERDICT
The claim that Nigeria is one of four countries with over 10,000 new pediatric HIV infections per annum is MOSTLY TRUE; data from a 2020 report has shown.
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