Peceli Naviticoko 
Temo Sasau.
There is an urgent need for a specialist doctor to better support and cater to the needs of people with HIV/AIDS in the Northern Division.
This was a request from Temo Sasau during a Town Hall meeting in Labasa, who has been living with HIV for 18 years.
Sasau, who is the only patient in the North to publicly disclose his HIV status, says his clinical check-ups is conducted in Suva due to the absence of a specialised HIV doctor in the North.
“With all due respect to the great work that the clinic is doing here in the north, taking into consideration the increase in the HIV rates and the numbers, and I’m the only one who was public here in the north about my status. And my request is, if we can have a specific doctor, specifically to look after people living with HIV. Because each time that I go to the clinic, the doctor is holding other roles.”
In response, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad acknowledged the urgency of the matter.
Professor Prasad says it can be addressed under the government’s $10 million allocation to combat HIV cases in Fiji.
“For the first time, the government, after so many years, has recognized the rise in the number of HIV cases. We’ve allocated $10 million to tackle this issue head-on. The New Zealand government has provided an additional $4.5 million, and so I’m pretty sure that we can look at that for the Northern Division,”
The Fiji Police Force is also working with special operations in hotspot areas where drug needle sharing is common. This is an issue that has contributed to the rise in HIV cases across the country.
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