By Huldah Shado
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), has warned that about 4,000 adolescent girls and young women contract HIV every week globally, with over 3,300 cases recorded in sub-Saharan Africa alone.
Ahead of the 2025 International Day of the Girl, AHF’s Senior Advocacy Manager, Steve Aborisade, said the trend reflects a widening gender gap in HIV infections, linking it to poor access to education, gender-based violence, and limited reproductive health services.
He noted that 1.9 million adolescent girls and young women were living with HIV in 2023, compared to 1.2 million adolescent boys and young men.
AHF Nigeria’s Country Programme Director, Dr. Echey Ijezie, described the situation as alarming and urged greater investment in education, empowerment, and healthcare access.
AHF Nigeria will mark the Day of the Girl with an outreach at Community Commercial Secondary School, Akwa Ibom, featuring mentorship, menstrual hygiene education, and free sanitary pad distribution.
