Fiji has declared a national health emergency over a sharp rise in HIV infections, with health officials warning that the Pacific island nation is facing an epidemic fuelled in part by an increase in injectable drug use.
The country’s Health and Medical Services Minister, Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu, announced the emergency in a statement shared on social media, saying the situation had gone beyond what could be addressed through an outbreak-level response.
“Today I am formally declaring a national health emergency in Fiji,” Lalabalavu said. “This decision recognises the seriousness of the epidemic and the urgent coordinated response our country now needs.”
The minister said government estimates indicate that one in every 60 adults in Fiji is now living with HIV, compared with one in 167 five years ago.
He added that 2,060 new HIV diagnoses were recorded in 2025, while one in 50 pregnant women is estimated to be living with the virus.
The emergency declaration followed a Cabinet decision made on September 9, with Lalabalavu saying it would require a coordinated national response.
Fiji, which has a population of fewer than one million people, has recorded one of the sharpest increases in new HIV infections globally. According to UNAIDS, new infections in the country increased 12-fold between 2010 and 2025.
As part of the government’s response, Fiji plans to introduce a syringe and needle programme aimed at reducing the spread of HIV among people who inject drugs.
Lalabalavu said the country already had sufficient supplies of syringes and needles, while legislative amendments would be introduced in Parliament to enable the programme to be implemented.
The minister also urged people to get tested and called for an end to discrimination against people living with HIV.
“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.”
UNAIDS data showed that of the estimated 9,100 Fijians living with HIV in 2025, only 39 per cent were aware of their status, while just 22 per cent were accessing antiretroviral treatment.
Jason Mitchell, who leads Fiji’s national HIV response taskforce, said tackling the epidemic would require a sustained effort.
He estimated that it could take more than five years for the country to bring the situation under control.
“It’s a long-term programme, it’s not something like Covid that’s turned around in two years. HIV is very different,” Mitchell told ABC News.
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