Fiji declares national HIV emergency and extends testing program as cases surge

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TOKYO (AP) — Fiji has declared an HIV national emergency after data showed one in 60 people in the South Pacific island nation is now estimated to have the bloodborne virus.

The country says it is boosting testing and treatment efforts to fight a surge in new infections, which have increased 12-fold over the last 15 years, according to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and Aids ( UNAIDS ).

Latest figures showed there was about 9,000 people living with HIV in 2025 in a country which has less than a million people, according to the U.N. agency. It said only 39% of patients knew their HIV status and just 22% were receiving antiretroviral treatment.

Fiji said that one in every 60 adults in the country has HIV, compared with one in 167 five years ago.

"This means HIV is now a national crisis — and the government is treating it like one. No more business as usual," Fiji's Health Minister Antonio Lalabalavu said in a video statement on Facebook. “More people in Fiji are living with HIV than ever before.”

The government said it was finding more cases because its testing efforts are reaching more people. It will provide more free testing, clean needles for drug users and free treatment for people who test positive.

“This is about protecting people — not judging them, not watching them, not shaming them,” the statement said.