Fiji’s HIV Epidemic Has Yet To Reach A ‘Turning Point’, Minister Warns

RNZ
Pacific reporters

Fiji
is now in a generalised HIV epidemic, which means the virus
is firmly established and spreading within the general
population.

The number of people living with HIV in
Fiji has risen sharply over the past decade.

Fiji’s
Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu declared an HIV
outbreak in January 2025.

The number of Fijians living
with HIV had risen to at least 9000, or nearly 1 percent of
the population, as of March, according to the head of Fiji’s
HIV response.

The figures indicate that Fiji has a
higher HIV prevalence rate than Australia and New Zealand,
where the rate is estimated at 0.1 percent.

In
parliament this week, the health minister revealed that new
infections continue to rise, with an estimated 1700 in 2025,
roughly three times the level in 2018.

“2026 UNAIDS
estimates indicate that about 9100 people were living with
HIV in 2025, and possibly as many as 12,000, up from fewer
than 700 in 2010,” he said.

“[For] adults from 15 to
49 years, prevalence has reached 1.6 percent, crossing the
threshold that defines a generalised epidemic.”

Dr
Lalabalavu said his ministry had increased testing and
treatment, but Fiji had not yet reached the point where new
infections were declining.

He said the government was
expanding HIV testing, treatment and prevention, including
PrEP, a daily medicine that helps prevent HIV.

The
minister noted that high-risk drug use, in particular
sharing of needles and syringes, was playing a significant
role in the rapid rise of new HIV infections in
Fiji.

“We have not yet reached the turning point,” he
said.

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