Apenisa Waqairadovu 
Fiji is now in a generalised HIV epidemic, with the number of people living with HIV rising sharply over the past decade.
Minister for Health Dr Atonio Lalabalavu told Parliament an estimated 9,100 people were living with HIV in 2025, while new infections reached about 1,700.
He says the Ministry has increased testing and treatment, but Fiji has not yet reached the point where new infections are declining.
“New infections are still rising, an estimated 1,700 in 2025, roughly three times the level in 2018. I will not stand before this House and claim that we have already turned the curve downward. My honest position is that we have not yet reached the turning point.”
Lalabalavu says the Government is expanding HIV testing, treatment and prevention, including PrEP and a new form of PrEP that requires only two injections a year.
He says harm-reduction measures, including a needle-syringe programme, are also urgently needed to reduce HIV transmission linked to drug use.
