Fiji has declared a national health emergency over a rapidly escalating HIV epidemic, with the country now recording one of the sharpest rises in new infections anywhere in the world. Health and Medical Services Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu made the formal announcement on Wednesday, saying that an outbreak-level response was no longer adequate. "This decision recognises the seriousness of the epidemic and the urgent coordinated response our country now needs," he said.
The scale of the crisis is stark. New HIV diagnoses reached more than 2,000 in 2025 alone — roughly sixteen times the figure recorded in 2019. The government now estimates that one in every 60 adults among Fiji's population of around 930,000 is living with HIV, compared with one in 167 just five years ago. UNAIDS, the United Nations agency dedicated to ending AIDS, reports that new infections have spiked twelvefold since 2010. Of an estimated 9,100 people currently living with HIV in Fiji, only 39% are aware of their status and just 22% are accessing antiretroviral treatment, underlining how far the healthcare response has lagged behind the spread of the virus.
The epidemic has been driven by two overlapping factors: sexual transmission and injecting drug use, particularly the rising use of methamphetamine. Among cases with a known mode of transmission, over half are linked to sexual contact and more than 42% to sharing needles. Fiji's position as a drug-trafficking hub in the South Pacific has compounded the problem, while cultural stigma, low health awareness and limited access to clean needles have allowed infections to spread largely unchecked. The situation among pregnant women is particularly alarming: one in 50 tests positive for HIV, and of 59 babies born with the virus in 2025, 18 died before reaching their first birthday.
In response, the government says it will expand free HIV testing — on a voluntary basis — alongside prevention and treatment services. Plans are also underway to introduce a needle and syringe programme and rehabilitation services for people who use drugs, with legislative amendments expected to go before parliament. Fiji's national human rights commission has called for any emergency measures to have a clear legal basis and to be necessary, proportionate and time-limited.
Why this matters: Fiji, an archipelago nation in the South Pacific better known internationally as a tourist destination, is confronting a public health crisis that carries lessons well beyond its shores. UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima warned that the situation was "a stark reminder to the world that AIDS is not over," adding that HIV epidemics can change rapidly and that countries need robust health systems capable of responding at speed. The Fijian emergency declaration, following a cabinet decision earlier this month, signals that the government has moved from treating this as a contained outbreak to acknowledging a full-blown national epidemic requiring coordinated action.