Praneeta Prakash 
Fiji is facing a sharp rise in HIV cases, with experts warning that treatment alone will not stop the epidemic.
UNAIDS Asia-Pacific Regional Director Eamonn Murphy said prevention must be the top priority.
He says Fiji has gone from fewer than 100 new cases in 2010 to 1,300 a year last year.
“For Fiji, this is an increase from less than 100 new infections in 2010 to 1,300 a year in 2024, in a very small country. This is in part due to fast-growing injecting drug use and other forms of drug use, but also sexual transmission playing a role, and the lack of continued focus on the epidemic that was already there in the community.”
Murphy says this spike is fueled by injecting drug use, sexual transmission, and years of neglect.
He says most countries in the region, including Fiji, are underfunding prevention efforts aimed at key groups, even though these programs offer the best return on investment.
“Most Asia-Pacific countries are underfunding the population-specific interventions they need to avoid the bulk of new infections, and therefore return on their investment would be greater.”
Founder of Living Positive Fiji, Mark Lal, says many patients stop treatment because they don’t trust the system or understand the benefits.
He says controlling HIV is not just about medicine—it’s about education and trust.
“So a lot of people just don’t see the benefit of staying on daily treatment, even though, we know that treatment keeps us healthy and stops transmission. Fixing this isn’t just about medicine, it’s about trust, education.”
Fiji declared an HIV outbreak earlier this year.
The government has since committed $10 million to fight it with help from regional partners.
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