Suva — May 9, 2026, 04:34 (FJT)
Fiji saw 2,016 new HIV cases in 2025, a 27% increase from 2024, marking the highest yearly total since the country started tracking the virus, according to the Ministry of Health and Medical Services’ 2025 national statistics report. From 1989 through 2025, the cumulative case count hit 5,676.
The spike is hitting right as Fiji grapples with HIV spreading among young adults, drug users, and families, with health workers scrambling to link new patients to care. Officials have labeled the situation a national crisis, declaring an HIV outbreak in the South Pacific country of under one million residents.
Testing now takes place right in residential areas. According to AFP, Medical Services Pacific’s Moonlight Clinic—a former minibus now stationed in a Suva suburb—provides free HIV testing and referrals. Volunteers, many involved with sex-worker and LGBTQ+ organizations, participate to connect with those unlikely to walk into traditional clinics.
People in the 20-to-24 age group saw the heaviest impact, logging 646 cases—32% of all new diagnoses in 2025. Children represented 67 new cases, with 56 traced directly to mother-to-child transmission, covering infections during pregnancy, delivery, or breastfeeding.
According to the ministry’s summary, 68.3% of new diagnoses came from the Central and Eastern divisions. The Western Division contributed 27.6%, and just 4.2% were reported by the Northern Division. Men made up 65.7% of those diagnosed, while women represented 33.9%, and transgender people accounted for 0.4%.
Injecting drug use stands out as a major issue, but the numbers only tell part of the story. Out of all recorded transmission categories, 362 cases involved people who inject drugs. The ministry reported that 1,167 cases—57.9%—remained with no identified mode of transmission. Most of those are still not connected to care.
Renata Ram, UNAIDS country director for Fiji and the Pacific, described Fiji as “15 to 20 years behind” on HIV, saying the country urgently needs a needle-syringe programme. Dr Tereza Kasaeva, WHO’s director for HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections, pointed out that people who inject drugs are “often left behind in HIV responses.” The Straits Times
The drug trade’s got a regional twist. Virginia Comolli, who heads the Pacific programme at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, told AFP that Fiji and other Pacific islands have played the role of transit points for narcotics moving out of Latin America and Asia, headed for Australia and New Zealand. Meth and cocaine have been turning up more often on local markets.
Treatment remains a problem. Out of 2,016 people diagnosed with HIV in 2025, 976 were already on antiretroviral therapy (ART), the typical HIV regimen. Another 128 had entered care but hadn’t begun ART yet. The remaining 845 hadn’t been linked to care at all. Fiji logged 117 deaths tied to HIV in 2025, 17 of them among children ages 0 to 14.
The numbers come with caveats. According to the ministry, the increase owes partly to broader testing and more cases being uncovered, but also to a bump in repeat tests among those already diagnosed with HIV. A big share of cases still fall into an unknown-transmission bracket, complicating efforts to chart the spread. Late diagnoses persist, heightening risks of severe illness and death.
The WHO maintains that needle-syringe programmes cut HIV and hepatitis transmission among people who inject drugs, and help link users to more comprehensive health care—without pushing up drug use. Fiji’s health ministry, along with WHO, UNDP, and other partners, has rolled out a 2024-2027 HIV Surge Strategy plus a response plan targeting outbreaks. That playbook calls for broader testing, easier access to treatment, and quicker harm-reduction rollouts.
UNDP Pacific Resident Representative Munkhtuya Altangerel described the findings as “a wake-up call,” stressing that Fiji’s epidemic isn’t just a health crisis—it’s a development and human rights issue, too. Now comes the hard part for Fiji: detecting more cases sooner, moving quickly on treatment, and ensuring people feel secure enough to step up. UNDP
