Friday, September 18, 2026 - Fiji has declared a national crisis amid an extraordinary rise in HIV cases, with health officials raising the alarm about an epidemic that has emerged alongside an increase in injectable drug use.
The country’s health and medical services minister, Dr Ratu
Atonio Lalabalavu, said in a statement on social media that an
outbreak-level response was no longer sufficient to address what he described
an “epidemic”.
“Today I am formally declaring a national health emergency
in Fiji,” he said. “This decision recognises the seriousness of the epidemic
and the urgent coordinated response our country now needs.”
The health minister said the government estimates that one
in every 60 adults in Fiji is now living with HIV.
“Five years ago, the estimate was one in 167. In 2025, we
recorded 2,060 new HIV diagnoses,” he said, adding that one in 50 pregnant
women has HIV.
The emergency declaration followed on from a cabinet
decision on September 9 and would require a coordinated response, he added.
Home to less than one million people, the Pacific nation is
facing one of the sharpest increases in new HIV infections globally, according
to UNAIDS, which said that new infections spiked 12-fold between 2010 and 2025.
The Fijian government will introduce a syringe and needle
programme as part of its response to the national crisis.
The country already has sufficient supplies of syringes and
needles, Lalabalavu says, with legislative amendments to be introduced in
parliament so that the programme can be rolled out.
The minister also urged people to come forward and get
tested.
"No one should be ashamed, threatened, or excluded
because of their HIV status," he said. "Stigma drives people away
from the very services that can help them."
Of the 9,100 Fijians living with HIV in 2025, only 39% knew
their HIV status and just 22% were accessing antiretroviral treatment,
according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids (UNAIDS).
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