Save the Children Fiji, the child rights organisation, says a two-month-old baby is the youngest patient in Fiji currently living with both HIV and tuberculosis (TB) — a case the organisation says “should be of serious concern to the nation”. The disclosure was reported by Fijivillage on 15 September and by the Fiji Sun on 16 September 2026, alongside new figures on HIV and TB among Fijian children.
Key facts
- Fiji had recorded 438 TB cases as of 31 August 2026, with 182 of those patients also living with HIV, Save the Children Fiji says.
- Of children under five diagnosed with TB last year, 70 per cent were also living with HIV.
- 59 babies acquired HIV through mother-to-child transmission in 2025 — almost double the 32 cases recorded in 2024, according to the Fiji Sun.
- There were 67 new HIV diagnoses among children under 15 in 2025, and 17 children in that age group died from HIV-related causes.
- An estimated 12,000 people in Fiji are living with HIV, the Fiji Sun reports, with infections up 14-fold in five years.
- Minister for Health Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said the Government is “expanding HIV testing and prevention”, the Fiji Sun reports, and a Cabinet sub-committee has been set up to support the national response.
Why it matters
Save the Children Fiji framed the numbers in human terms. “Behind every number is a child, a family and a life that deserves protection,” the organisation said in the statement reported by Fijivillage, warning that such figures “should not become normal”. It says urgent action is needed so that people can access HIV prevention, testing and treatment before they become seriously ill.
The scale behind the paediatric figures is national. The Fiji Sun puts the estimated number of people living with HIV in Fiji at 12,000, and reports that infections have risen 14-fold over five years — the trajectory that produced Fiji’s declared HIV emergency, which our earlier coverage reported as reaching roughly one in 60 adults. The two-month-old’s case sits at the youngest edge of that curve: the Fiji Sun describes the infant as among the latest cases recorded, and says the case highlights growing concern over HIV infections among children.
Background, not drawn from either report: TB has long been identified by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of death among people living with HIV, because HIV weakens the immune defences that normally contain the TB bacterium. That is the clinical reason a co-infection figure — 182 of 438 TB patients, and 70 per cent of under-fives with TB — is treated by health workers as more serious than either disease count on its own.
What Save the Children Fiji is asking for
The organisation stresses that the situation is not about blaming or shaming people living with HIV. They “deserve dignity, treatment, compassion and support”, it said in the words reported by Fijivillage.
Its specific calls, as reported by both outlets, are for timely access to HIV testing, treatment and antenatal care during pregnancy, to help reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission — the route that accounted for 59 infant infections last year. The organisation also wants stronger prevention, testing, treatment and support for pregnant women, children and adolescents.
Save the Children Fiji says children and teenagers need stronger protection and age-appropriate education, and that parents should be supported to have open conversations with their children. Those asks land on child-protection machinery that is already under strain: the same ministry system responsible for safeguarding children reactivated the revived national committee on child abuse earlier this year, as Fiji News reported, and it is the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection that the Fiji Sun approached for comment on this case.
The organisation says government, communities, churches, schools, traditional leaders and civil society must work together as Fiji responds to the national HIV crisis, according to Fijivillage.
The Government’s response
Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said the Government was “expanding HIV testing and prevention” measures, the Fiji Sun reports. The measures it lists are “pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)”, “long-acting injectable prevention”, “treatment as prevention”, and “a needle and syringe programme for people who inject drugs”.
Readers should note how those words reach them: the Fiji Sun carries the Minister’s position as reported remarks and a list of named measures rather than as extended quotation, so the phrasing above reflects the newspaper’s account of what he said. Fiji News has not obtained a fuller transcript of his comments.
The Fiji Sun also reports that the Government has established a Cabinet sub-committee to support the national HIV response. The report does not detail the sub-committee’s membership, its terms of reference, or when it is expected to report.
How the two reports compare
The two accounts agree on the core numbers: 438 TB cases as of 31 August, 182 of them in patients also living with HIV, the 70 per cent figure among under-fives diagnosed with TB last year, 59 mother-to-child transmissions in 2025, 67 new diagnoses among under-15s and 17 HIV-related deaths in that age group.
The Fiji Sun adds material the Fijivillage report does not carry. It sets the 59 mother-to-child transmissions against 32 cases in 2024 — an increase of 27 cases, or roughly 84 per cent, in a single year. It puts the national total of people living with HIV at an estimated 12,000 and reports a 14-fold rise in infections over five years. And it carries Dr Lalabalavu’s comments and the existence of the Cabinet sub-committee. Fijivillage’s report is built around Save the Children Fiji’s statement alone, without government reaction.
What is still unclear
Neither report identifies the two-month-old, the family, or the town, clinic or hospital involved. Neither sets out how the infant’s HIV and TB infections were detected, whether the mother’s HIV status was known during pregnancy, or what treatment the baby is now receiving.
The Fiji Sun says comments were sought from the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection, and its report does not carry a reply. Fiji News has reviewed its own earlier coverage of the HIV emergency declaration, which establishes the scale of the adult epidemic but does not name the members of any Cabinet sub-committee on HIV or set out its remit; we have not located a published government statement detailing that body, and neither outlet reports a timeframe for the rollout of the prevention measures named by Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu or a date for the sub-committee’s first findings. This report will be updated if the ministry responds or if those details are published.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Fiji’s youngest patient living with both HIV and TB?
Save the Children Fiji says a two-month-old baby is the youngest patient in Fiji currently living with both HIV and tuberculosis. The organisation’s statement was reported by Fijivillage on 15 September 2026 and by the Fiji Sun on 16 September 2026. Neither outlet names the infant, the family or the hospital involved.
How many TB patients in Fiji also have HIV?
Save the Children Fiji says Fiji had recorded 438 TB cases as of 31 August 2026, and that 182 of those patients were also living with HIV. The organisation also says 70 per cent of children under five diagnosed with TB last year were living with HIV as well.
How many people in Fiji are estimated to be living with HIV?
The Fiji Sun reports that the latest figures estimate 12,000 people in Fiji are living with HIV, and that infections have increased 14-fold in five years. Fijivillage’s report on the same statement does not carry that estimate.
Is mother-to-child HIV transmission rising in Fiji?
Yes. According to the Fiji Sun, the number of babies acquiring HIV through mother-to-child transmission almost doubled in 2025, rising to 59 cases from 32 in 2024. Save the Children Fiji is calling for timely antenatal care, testing and treatment during pregnancy to reduce that risk.
What has the Fijian Government said it is doing?
Minister for Health Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu said the Government was, in the Fiji Sun’s reported wording, “expanding HIV testing and prevention” measures, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), long-acting injectable prevention, treatment as prevention, and a needle and syringe programme for people who inject drugs. The Fiji Sun also reports that a Cabinet sub-committee has been established to support the national HIV response.
Do the reports identify the baby or say where the infant is being treated?
No. Neither Fijivillage nor the Fiji Sun names the two-month-old, the family, or the town, clinic or hospital involved, and neither sets out how the infections were detected or what treatment the baby is receiving.
Has the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection responded?
The Fiji Sun said comments were sought from the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection. Its report does not include a response from the ministry, and Fiji News has not seen a published reply.
