The Fiji government announced on the 15th that the AIDS epidemic has constituted a national crisis in the country, and launched a coordinated response measure at the whole government level to curb the sharp increase in HIV infection cases and protect the community.
Fiji’s Minister of Health Attonio Lalabalavu held a press conference that day and said that there will be 2,016 new cases of HIV infection in Fiji in 2025, which is 16 times the number in 2019. It is estimated that 1 in 60 adults are now infected with HIV, compared with 1 in 167 five years ago; among pregnant women, 2 in 100 people are infected with HIV.
Lalabalawu said that as part of the national response, free and confidential HIV testing, prevention, treatment and care services are available in all four administrative regions of Fiji.
Lalabalawu said that HIV testing follows the principles of voluntariness and confidentiality, personal infection status is protected by law, and discrimination against people living with HIV is illegal. He called on the Fijian people to take the initiative to get tested for HIV to protect their own and the health of others.
