Fiji’s health minister formally declared a national health emergency on Thursday in response to escalating HIV infections across the Pacific island nation. The declaration followed a cabinet decision made on 9 September and reflects the government’s assessment that standard outbreak-response measures are no longer adequate to address what officials characterize as an epidemic.
According to health authorities, approximately one in every 60 adults in Fiji is currently living with HIV, representing a dramatic increase from five years prior when the ratio was one in 167. In 2025, the country recorded 2,060 new HIV diagnoses. Among pregnant women, the prevalence is even higher, with one in 50 carrying the virus. UNAIDS reports that Fiji has experienced one of the steepest increases in new infections globally, with a 12-fold spike between 2010 and 2025.
Experts attribute the rapid transmission to multiple interconnected factors. Fiji’s role as a transit point for drug trafficking has coincided with a surge in methamphetamine consumption domestically. The combination of increased drug use and unsafe injection practices, compounded by limited access to sterile needles, has created conditions for rapid viral transmission. Of documented HIV cases, sexual transmission accounts for over half of infections, while injecting drug use is linked to more than 42 percent of cases.
Public health gaps have amplified the crisis. Among an estimated 9,100 people living with HIV in Fiji during 2025, only 39 percent were aware of their status, and merely 22 percent were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Cultural stigma, inadequate health literacy, and insufficient testing and treatment infrastructure have hindered efforts to contain the outbreak.
In response to Fiji’s emergency declaration, UNAIDS expressed support for proposed interventions including a needle and syringe program that requires legislative amendments expected to advance through parliament. The UN agency emphasized that expansion of prevention, testing, and treatment access would be essential components of an effective response.
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