Fiji declares national HIV emergency as cases soar
Fiji is grappling with a rising number of HIV cases across the country. (ABC News: Sairusi Tabualuma, file)
One in 60 Fijians have HIV, with new data indicating the number of new cases has risen 27 per cent in one year.
The Fijian government has declared a national emergency in response to the rising number of cases.
It is expanding testing, the supply of preventive medicines and harm reduction services for drug users.
Fiji has declared a national HIV emergency, with new statistics showing one in 60 adults are living with the virus.
The government said in a statement posted on Facebook that 2,016 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2025, representing a 27 per cent increase in positive cases from the previous year.
Fifty-nine babies were born with HIV last year, and 18 died before their first birthday, it also said.
Authorities said expanded testing had helped uncover infections, enabling earlier treatment.
Fiji now plans to widen access to free, voluntary and confidential testing, preventive medicines, as well as harm-reduction services for injecting drug users and treatment.
Five years ago one in 167 people in Fiji had the virus.
HIV testing is being rapidly expanded across Fiji. (ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter, file)
Chair of Fiji's National HIV Outbreak Response, Jason Mitchell, told ABC's The World that there had been a scarcity of needles in Fiji because of law enforcement operations.
He said those operations were appropriate, but had hindered harm reduction efforts.
"We need to make needles and syringes widely available to the public, where anyone who is actually injecting has access to sterile needles and syringes so they can avoid sharing," Mr Mitchell said.
"I think it shows real bravery and real leadership of our government to introduce this and introduce it very quickly and scale it up."
He predicted it would take "upwards of five years" to bring the epidemic under control.
"The complexities of our communities that are impacted by HIV and engaging with them and working with them makes it very difficult for us to turn an epidemic like this around," he said.
"With the country rising together, we will get on top of this; it will just take time."
Fiji, a country of about 900,000 people, is experiencing one of the world's sharpest rises in new infections, according to UNAIDS.
It estimates that 9,100 Fijians were living with HIV last year, that only 39 per cent knew their status, and that 22 per cent were receiving antiretroviral treatment.
"Fiji has recognised the urgency of the moment and is stepping up its response," UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima said.
Among cases with a known transmission route, more than half were linked to sexual transmission and over 42 per cent to injecting drugs, UNAIDS said.
The agency welcomed government plans for a needle and syringe program and expanded access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medicine used to lower the risk of contracting HIV.
The government has set up a five-minister cabinet subcommittee to remove barriers to action.
It said discrimination against people living with HIV was illegal and services were available nationwide.
Fiji's estimate of one in 60 adults living with HIV remains below parts of Africa, where nearly one in 35 adults are living with HIV, according to the World Health Organization.
