Closing the Enforcement Gap
Nigeria’s 2014 law bans HIV testing for jobs. Most employers still do it.
In 2014, Nigeria passed the HIV and AIDS Anti-Discrimination Act. The law bans mandatory HIV testing as a condition for work. It makes disclosure voluntary. It bans firing, demoting, or refusing a promotion because of someone’s status.
A new survey by the Bisi Alimi Foundation’s Rainbow Academy Scholars, done with Minority Watch Nigeria, asked 101 Nigerians living with HIV what actually happens at work.
What the survey found
- 87% said an employer required an HIV test to get a job.
- 82% were never told they had a right to refuse the test.
- 77% did not know pre-employment testing is illegal in Nigeria.
- 67% reported discrimination tied to their HIV status.
- 80% work somewhere with no written policy against HIV discrimination.
101 respondents is a small sample against the number of Nigerians living with HIV. The authors treat it as a signal, not a national count.
Why most victims never file a complaint
Employers often fold HIV testing into a general medical exam or a food handler test. Legal experts consulted for the report say a signed consent form does not make this legal.
Most people affected never report it. 86% of respondents who faced discrimination filed no formal complaint. Court filings in Nigeria are public and searchable, so a person who sues risks having their name and HIV status permanently indexed online under their own name. That risk keeps people out of court and keeps employers unaccountable.
What has to change
- The Ministry of Labour and NACA should run compliance audits and ban HIV screening hidden inside general medical checks.
- The National Industrial Court should protect the identity of anyone who files a discrimination case.
- Employer associations like NECA, MAN, and NACCIMA should require a written anti-discrimination policy from their members.
- Civil society groups and unions should run legal literacy campaigns so workers know they can refuse the test.
Closing the Enforcement Gap was researched and written by the Rainbow Academy Scholars of the Bisi Alimi Foundation, in consultation with Minority Watch Nigeria, 2026.