[Photo: File]
Fiji is entering a new phase in its HIV response, with health authorities confirming the virus is no longer limited to specific groups and is now affecting communities across the country.
Health Minister Dr Atonio Lalabalavu says Fiji now has evidence of a generalised HIV epidemic, with HIV prevalence reaching 1.6 percent among adults aged 15 to 49 and around 2 percent among pregnant women.
He says when the outbreak was first detected in 2025, cases were mainly associated with people who used drugs, but the situation has since evolved.
Dr Lalabalavu says Fiji has strengthened its response through the establishment of the National HIV Outbreak and Cluster Response Task Force and the new National Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Office.
“The office we open today is a visible symbol of that work, but this is not simply a building. This is the home of Fiji’s national response to HIV. Sitting under it are the three divisional sexual and reproductive health and HIV clinics, or hubs, which direct the divisional-level responses.”
The Minister says the new office will coordinate prevention, testing, treatment and support services, working with divisional hubs, health workers, communities and development partners.
He says Fiji’s priorities are preventing new infections, ensuring people living with HIV receive early treatment, and taking services closer to communities through outreach programmes.
Dr Lalabalavu says addressing HIV requires more than medical intervention, stressing that stigma and discrimination must be replaced with awareness, support and collective action.
