Fiji’s
Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu has formally declared a
national HIV emergency in the country.
In a
pre-recorded video press statement on Tuesday, Dr Lalabalavu
said the decision was backed by Prime Minister Sitiveni
Rabuka and his Cabinet due to the “seriousness of the
epidemic”.
The health minister confirmed that the
government’s current estimates indicated that one in every
60 adults in Fiji is living with HIV.
“Five years ago,
the estimate was one in 167. In 2025, we recorded 2060 new
HIV diagnoses,” he said.
“HIV prevalence among women
attending antenatal care reached around two percent. That
means one out of 50 pregnant women now has HIV. These
figures tell us the response must reach further and follow
through more consistently.”
This week, a health
researcher told RNZ Checkpoint that a
“horrendously high” number of newborns were dying due to
HIV-related complications in Fiji.
The NZ government’s
SafeTravel website is warning people traveling to Fiji to
avoid activities that could increase their risk of
infection.
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According to the World Health Organisation
(WHO), Fiji has the second-fastest-growing HIV epidemic in
the Asia-Pacific region behind Papua New Guinea
(PNG).
An estimated 9000
Fijians were living with HIV as of March this year, and
officials pointed to high-risk drug use contributing to the
rapid rise.
Dr
Lalabalavu said every diagnosis must lead to care and every
person starting treatment needed support to remain on
it.
He said authorities would move quickly to
introduce new interventions and scale up established
services backed by evidence.
“That means expanding
testing, treatment, and access to pre-exposure prophylaxis,
or PrEP. It also means accelerating the introduction of a
formal needle and syringe programme and long-acting
injectable prevention.”
He stressed that treatment was
central to the government’s response.
“It helps people
living with HIV stay well, and when it achieves and
maintains an undetectable viral load, it prevents sexual
transmission.”
Fiji’s Sexual Reproductive Health and
HIV Programme Management Unit is expected to coordinate
implementation, working through divisional and
sub-divisional health services, and with community
partners.
Dr Lalabalavu said Australia, New Zealand,
the Global Fund, India, and the United Nations Joint Team on
HIV and AIDS, and other partners are supporting the country
with its HIV response.
The Fijian government has also
proposed the establishment of a parliamentary standing
committee on HIV and related matters, he said.
“To
anyone who has been diagnosed with HIV, a diagnosis does not
take away your future. Effective treatment can help you live
a long and healthy life. Keep taking your medicine as
prescribed, even when you feel well.
“I call on
families, communities, faith leaders, schools, employers,
and partners to join in this response, encourage testing,
support people to stay in care, and challenge stigma
wherever you encounter
it.”
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