Popular South Pacific destination declares HIV emergency as infections surge 12-fold
Beach of Pacific Harbour, Beqa Lagoon, Viti Levu, Fiji (Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Fiji has declared a national HIV emergency after data showed that one in 60 adults in the South Pacific island nation is living with the virus.
Dig deeper:
The government is expanding testing and treatment as new HIV infections surge. UNAIDS reported that cases have increased 12-fold over the past 15 years, according to The Associated Press.
Fiji recorded more than 2,000 new cases in 2025, a 16-fold increase from 2019, The New York Times reported.
The scale of the epidemic is significant for a country with fewer than 1 million residents.
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UNAIDS estimated that about 9,000 people were living with HIV in Fiji in 2025. The infection rate has risen from one in 167 adults five years ago to one in 60, while one in 50 pregnant women is now infected, the AP reported.
The crisis has also affected infants. Fifty-nine babies were born with HIV in 2025, and 18 died before reaching their first birthdays, according to the AP and Reuters.
Health officials have identified a growing epidemic of injected drug use as the primary driver of the increase.
Why you should care:
Island nations have increasingly become transit points for illicit drugs headed toward Australia and New Zealand, contributing to the growth of local markets for substances such as methamphetamine.
The emergency is tied to a sharp rise in high-risk methamphetamine use, with widespread needle sharing among people who use drugs contributing to the increase in HIV infections, the AP reported.
Fiji Health Minister Atonio Lalabalavu said the situation, which was previously classified as an outbreak in January 2025, now requires a coordinated response across the government.
Lalabalavu said the response should focus on protecting people rather than judging, watching or shaming them.
The government is expanding free HIV testing, distributing clean needles to people who use drugs and providing free antiretroviral medication. The effort addresses a major treatment gap, as only 39% of patients know their HIV status and just 22% are receiving care.
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International health officials have expressed concern about the speed at which the virus is spreading.
What they're saying:
Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said Fiji is experiencing one of the sharpest increases in new HIV infections in the world and warned that the AIDS epidemic is not over, according to the AP and Reuters.
Regional health officials also warned that Fiji’s role as a major transportation and tourism hub could allow the crisis to spread to other South Pacific nations without swift action to reduce stigma and expand treatment. They urged government, community and religious leaders to respond.
In December, the World Health Organization released a rapid assessment that identified unsafe injecting practices in Fiji.
Those practices can increase the risk of HIV transmission among people who inject drugs.
The "Bluetooth trend" has also contributed to the spread of HIV. The practice involves people injecting blood from someone who is already intoxicated to achieve a high when they cannot afford their own drugs.
The assessment found that Fiji reported 1,583 new HIV cases in 2024, while 1,226 cases were recorded during the first six months of 2025.
Crystal methamphetamine was the most commonly used drug. The assessment found that half of the people interviewed had injected themselves with a potentially contaminated syringe.
Munkhtuya Altangerel, a representative of the U.N. Development Program, said the findings should serve as a wake-up call.
"Fiji’s HIV epidemic is not just a health issue. It is a development and human rights challenge that threatens lives, communities and progress," Altangerel said in a release.
"We must act decisively and urgently to scale up harm reduction, expand access to HIV testing and treatment and ensure that no one is left behind."
The Source: The story is based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters and The New York Times, along with data from UNAIDS and a World Health Organization rapid assessment. It also includes statements from Fiji Health Minister Atonio Lalabalavu and U.N. Development Program representative Munkhtuya Altangerel. This story was reported from Los Angeles.