Fiji is now in a generalised HIV epidemic, which means the virus is firmly established and spreading within the general population.
The number of people living with HIV in Fiji has risen sharply over the past decade.
Fiji’s Health Minister Dr Ratu Atonio Lalabalavu declared an HIV outbreak in January 2025.
The number of Fijians living with HIV had risen to at least 9000, or nearly 1 percent of the population, as of March, according to the head of Fiji’s HIV response.
The figures indicate that Fiji has a higher HIV prevalence rate than Australia and New Zealand, where the rate is estimated at 0.1 percent.
In parliament this week, the health minister revealed that new infections continue to rise, with an estimated 1700 in 2025, roughly three times the level in 2018.
“2026 UNAIDS estimates indicate that about 9100 people were living with HIV in 2025, and possibly as many as 12,000, up from fewer than 700 in 2010,” he said.
“[For] adults from 15 to 49 years, prevalence has reached 1.6 percent, crossing the threshold that defines a generalised epidemic.”
Dr Lalabalavu said his ministry had increased testing and treatment, but Fiji had not yet reached the point where new infections were declining.
He said the government was expanding HIV testing, treatment and prevention, including PrEP, a daily medicine that helps prevent HIV.
The minister noted that high-risk drug use, in particular sharing of needles and syringes, was playing a significant role in the rapid rise of new HIV infections in Fiji.
“We have not yet reached the turning point,” he said.
