Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services has formally declared HIV a national emergency, with Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu announcing the decision in a statement posted on social media. The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations health agency, dates the declaration to 15 September, while Japanese outlet TRAICY Global reports the government declared a state of emergency on 16 September. Neither explains the one-day gap and no dated gazette notice appears in the material either carried, so this report uses WHO’s date and flags TRAICY Global’s alongside it.
Key facts
- UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, estimated 9,100 people were living with HIV in Fiji in 2025, according to WHO — 12 times the number recorded in 2010. Outlook India gives the same UNAIDS estimate as “about 9,000”; the two are a rounded and an unrounded version of one figure, not two competing counts.
- Only 39% of people living with HIV knew their status and 22% were accessing treatment, on the UNAIDS figures cited by both WHO and Outlook India. Applied to the 9,100 estimate, that leaves roughly 5,500 people who do not know they are positive, on Fiji News arithmetic.
- Officials say one in 60 adults is living with the virus, up from one in 167 five years ago.
- Lalabalavu said Fiji recorded 2,060 new HIV diagnoses in 2025, and that one in 50 pregnant women has HIV, attitude.co.uk reported.
- WHO describes the situation as one of the sharpest increases in new HIV infections globally.
Why it matters
With fewer than one million people, Fiji is now dealing with an epidemic in which most people carrying the virus do not know it. Outlook India reported that stigma around HIV remains an issue, and Lalabalavu said the response was about protecting people rather than judging or shaming them.
UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said in a statement reported by Outlook India: “Fiji’s crisis was a stark reminder to the world that AIDS is not over.”
The workforce question — Fiji News analysis
The following is Fiji News analysis, not a claim made by any source. The headline prevalence figure — one in 60 — is measured among adults, the age band that fills Fiji’s workforce, and the treatment proportions cited by WHO imply that about four in five people living with HIV in the country are not yet on treatment. No source reviewed for this article attaches a cost to that, projects a future health-budget burden, or reports any effect on labour supply, and Fiji News is not asserting one. It is, though, the obvious question to put to the ministry, and we have asked it.
Tourism
Fiji’s visitor economy is dominated by Australia and New Zealand — Fiji News has previously reported $3.7 billion from Australian visitors, and more in our reporting on Fiji’s economy — and both governments are among those now backing the response, according to attitude.co.uk. No source reviewed for this article reported any travel restriction, advisory against travel, or booking impact tied to the declaration.
What the declaration changes
Lalabalavu said HIV was given “outbreak” status in January 2025, and that Cabinet decided this month the designation was no longer sufficient. Speaking on social media, he said: “Today I am formally declaring a national health emergency in Fiji,” according to attitude.co.uk.
The practical effect, as described, is that other government agencies are required to work with the health ministry rather than leaving the response inside the health portfolio alone.
The measures announced
The package includes free HIV testing, free treatment for people who test positive, and a needle and syringe programme supplying clean needles to people who inject drugs. WHO said it also covers pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — prevention medicine taken before exposure by people at substantial risk — with attitude.co.uk reporting wider PrEP access and long-acting options such as twice-yearly injections. Attitude.co.uk reported that Australia, New Zealand, India, the Global Fund and the United Nations have all signalled support.
What has not been published
None of the reporting reviewed here carries a number: no dollar value for the pledged support, no named programmes or disbursement timeline, no costing for the testing, treatment and PrEP rollout, and no figure for clinics, testing sites or additional staff. Nor does any source say whether the emergency unlocks money beyond the ministry’s existing allocation or is to be absorbed within it — the difference between a declaration that redirects effort and one that redirects funding. Fiji News has asked for clarification and will update this report if figures are released.
What is driving the rise
Attitude.co.uk reported that experts link the increase to drug use, unsafe sex, needle sharing and “bluetoothing” or “hotspotting” — a practice involving the sharing of blood between people who inject drugs. The outlet did not name the experts it was citing.
Outlook India reported that analysts have linked part of the increase to growing use of injected methamphetamine across the Pacific, with trafficking networks increasingly using island countries as transit hubs. That characterisation rests on a single report citing unnamed analysts and Fiji News has not independently verified it. TRAICY Global reports separately that illegal drugs including cocaine and methamphetamine are widespread in Fiji, and that joint military and police investigations conducted since May have not eradicated the problem.
Lalabalavu also said more cases are being identified because testing is reaching more people, according to Outlook India — a caveat that cuts both ways, since expanded testing lifts recorded case numbers even where underlying transmission is flat. None of the sources reviewed separates the two drivers.
Testing, prevention and first aid
The Embassy of Japan in Fiji has issued an advisory following the declaration, warning that used syringes may be discarded in places people pass through daily, including markets, parks and grassy areas, and urging people to watch their step.
On testing, the embassy says public sexually transmitted infection clinics provide HIV antigen and antibody testing and treatment free of charge, with no appointment needed and results in about 15 minutes, and it names major hospitals in Suva, Nadi, Lautoka and Labasa. On needle-stick injuries, it advises washing the wound thoroughly under running water, gently applying pressure around it to draw out blood, disinfecting it afterwards if disinfectant is available, then going to a hospital and telling staff a needle prick is involved.
The advisory is aimed at Japanese nationals, not the wider travel market, and stops short of advising against travel to Fiji.
Background and regional response
WHO said the emergency builds on a response already running for two years: Fiji endorsed its HIV Surge Strategy 2024–2027 in 2024 and later launched a national HIV Outbreak Response Plan, with UNAIDS, WHO and other partners supporting implementation. On WHO’s own account, then, the declaration follows two years of formal planning that did not halt the rise in new infections.
Dr Mark Jacobs, WHO Representative to the South Pacific and Director of Pacific Support, who is based in Suva, said modern treatments mean people living with HIV can live normal healthy lives and not pass the infection on. WHO said a regional dialogue on HIV was held recently at the Pacific Heads of Health Meeting in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, where Pacific island countries agreed that no nation is safe unless all are working together.
Outlook India reported that officials elsewhere in the Pacific are concerned about possible outbreaks despite relatively low HIV rates, noting that small populations and gaps in funded health services make spread difficult to curb. Papua New Guinea, which declared its own national HIV crisis in June 2025 according to Associated Press reporting carried by Outlook India, remains the region’s outlier, with infections rising since 2010 to the highest and fastest-growing numbers in the Pacific. Fiji News will continue to follow the response; more in our Fiji News health coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
When exactly did Fiji declare HIV a national emergency?
The World Health Organization gives the date as 15 September 2026. Japanese outlet TRAICY Global reports a state of emergency declared on 16 September. Neither explains the one-day gap and no dated gazette notice appears in the material either carried, so Fiji News reports WHO’s date and flags TRAICY Global’s alongside it.
Where can people in Fiji get a free HIV test right now?
According to the Embassy of Japan in Fiji, public sexually transmitted infection clinics offer HIV antigen and antibody testing and treatment free of charge, with no appointment needed and rapid results available within 15 minutes. The embassy also listed major hospitals in Suva, Nadi, Lautoka and Labasa in its advisory to Japanese nationals. Free testing and free treatment for those who test positive are also part of the package announced with the emergency declaration, according to WHO.
What is PrEP, and is it available in Fiji?
PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, is prevention medicine taken by people at substantial risk of HIV before any exposure occurs. WHO says wider access to PrEP is part of the measures announced with the emergency declaration, and attitude.co.uk reported that the expansion includes long-acting options such as twice-yearly injections. Neither source gives the number of sites dispensing it or a start date for the expansion.
What should you do if you step on a discarded needle?
The Embassy of Japan in Fiji advises washing the wound thoroughly under running water, gently applying pressure around it to draw out blood, and disinfecting it after washing if disinfectant is available. The embassy says people should then seek medical attention at a hospital and tell staff they have been pricked by a needle.
Can someone on HIV treatment pass the virus on?
UNAIDS Regional Director Eamonn Murphy said in a news release cited by attitude.co.uk that people on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load do not sexually transmit HIV. He also said HIV is not transmitted through everyday contact, and described the national crisis declaration as a call for action rather than fear. WHO Representative to the South Pacific Dr Mark Jacobs made a similar point, saying modern treatment allows people living with HIV to live normal healthy lives and not pass the infection on.
Does the emergency restrict travel to Fiji?
No travel restriction or entry requirement was reported in the statements carried by WHO, Outlook India, attitude.co.uk or TRAICY Global. The only travel-facing guidance in that material is the Embassy of Japan in Fiji’s advisory to its nationals, which warns about discarded syringes in public places and sets out what to do after a needle-stick injury.
How much is Fiji spending on the emergency response?
No figure has been published in the reporting reviewed for this article, and none of the sources says whether the response will be funded from the health ministry’s existing allocation or through additional appropriation. Fiji News has asked the ministry and will update this report if figures are released.
Has another Pacific country declared an HIV crisis?
Yes. Papua New Guinea declared a national HIV crisis in June 2025, according to Associated Press reporting carried by Outlook India. That report said HIV rates remain low across most Pacific island nations, with Papua New Guinea the exception, where infections have risen since 2010 to the highest and fastest-growing numbers in the region.
